Wiretap Claims Against Gmail Scanning Survive Motion to Dismiss — In re: Google Inc. Gmail Litigation

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re: Google Inc. Gmail Litigation, 13-MD-02430-LHK (N.D. Cal. Sept. 26, 2013) This is a consolidated multi-district lawsuit challenging Google’s practice of scanning emails for the purpose of delivering advertising. In a harshly toned order, Judge…

Spam Arrest’s Sender Agreement Fails Because Email Marketer’s Employees Lacked Authority–Spam Arrest v. Replacements (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Spam Arrest LLC v Replacements Ltd., 2013 WL 4675919 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 29, 2013) People hate receiving spam, but most people stopped obsessing about spam a decade ago or more. In the interim, anti-spam filters have improved…

Facebook Sponsored Stories Settlement Approved – Fraley v. Facebook

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Fraley v. Facebook, Inc., C 11-1726 RS (N.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2013) (Digital Media Law Project’s page for the case) (Access a copy of the amended settlement agreement here: [pdf].) Judge Seeborg initially rejected the proposed…

Email Exchange Creates Binding Settlement Agreement Per UETA–Forcelli v. Gelco

[Post by John Ottaviani] Forcelli v. Gelco Corp., 2013 NY Slip Op 05437 (N.Y. App. Div. July 24, 2013) E-Sign and UETA cases have been few and far between to date. Perhaps it is because the laws still are relatively…

Effort to Game Website User Agreement Rules Fails -– Traton News v. Traton Corp.

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Traton News v. Traton Corp., 2013 WL 2500601 (6th Cir. June 11, 2013) Moses was involved in a dispute against Traton Corp., a home builder. Moses sued for trespass and lost. Later, he formed “Traton News…

Multiple Listing Service Gets Favorable Appellate Ruling in Scraping Lawsuit

By Jake McGowan, with comments from Eric & Venkat Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. v. American Home Realty Network, Inc., 2013 WL 3722365 (4th Cir. July 17, 2013) This is a follow-up to our massive post on anti-scraping lawsuits in the…

JDate Member Agreement Upheld–Zaltz v. JDate (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Lisa Zaltz v. JDate, 2013 WL 3369073 (E.D.N.Y. July 8, 2013). Lisa Zaltz is a former member of JDate (a property of Spark Networks).  She is unhappy with JDate for a laundry list of reasons (I had a…

Warranty Disclaimer in PC TuneUp’s EULA Fails — Rottner v. AVG

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Rottner v. AVG Technologies, 12-10920-RGS (D. Mass May 3, 2013) [pdf] Rottner sued AVG Technologies on behalf of a putative class, alleging that AVG’s “PC TuneUp” product did not perform as advertised….

Craigslist’s Anti-Consumer Lawsuit Threatens to Break Internet Law–Craigslist v. 3Taps/Padmapper (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Craigslist, Inc. v. 3Taps, Inc., 2013 WL 1819999 (N.D. Cal. April 30, 2013) Craigslist is one of the best examples of the Internet’s sharing economy.  Craigslist improves markets by helping buyers and sellers find each other.  Remarkably, it…

Yahoo’s User Agreement Fails in Battle Over Dead User’s Email Account–Ajemian v. Yahoo

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ajemian v. Yahoo!, 12-P-178 (Mass. Ct. App. May 7, 2013) This is a very interesting dispute that raises the question of ownership over digital assets after a person’s death. Plaintiffs, John Ajemian’s (the decedent’s) executors and…