Debt Collection Text May Result in Liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act — Gutierrez v. Barclays Group
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Gutierrez v. Barclays Group, Case No. 10cv1012 DMS (BGS) (S.D. Cal.; Feb. 9, 2011) The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a big stick. And it’s being wielded against debt collectors. Plaintiffs (a husband and wife) applied…
Deep Packet Inspection (NebuAd) Litigation: Court Dismisses ECPA Claim but CFAA Claim Continues
[Post by Venkat with comments by Eric] Mortensen v. Bresnan Comm., CV 10-13-BLG-RFC (D. Mont. Dec. 13, 2010) A district court in Montana hearing one of the many NebuAd “deep packet inspection” lawsuits partially granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss….
Tip for Clean Living: Don’t Use a 14 Year Old’s Self-Portrait in Advertising for Porn–Lara Jade Coton v. TVX
By Eric Goldman Coton v. Televised Visual X-ography, Inc., 2010 WL 3768039 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2010). The initial complaint. Lara Jade’s blog post on the court victory. Comprehensive recap from Plagiarism Today, who has been tracking the case all…
Seventh Circuit Tosses Beverly Stayart’s False Endorsement Claims–Stayart v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Stayart v. Yahoo! Inc., 2010 WL 3785147 (7th Cir. Sept. 30, 2010). I have previously blogged about Beverly Stayart’s lawsuits against Yahoo and Google for apparently sploggy (and possibly cloaked) objectionable search results delivered when she searched…
Scribd Can’t Shake Copyright and Publicity Rights Lawsuit on Motion to Dismiss–Williams v. Scribd
By Eric Goldman Williams v. Scribd, 3:09-cv-01836-LAB -BGS (S.D. Cal. June 23, 2010). Larry Williams has written several books on commodities trading (their titles suggest they fit into the “Make Money Fast” genre). He alleges that rogue Scribd users, including…
No Wrath in this Quon–Ontario v. Quon
The Supreme Court passes on almost every issue before it in City of Ontario v. Quon. By Ethan Ackerman (with comments from Eric below) On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court released its opinion in City of Ontario v. Quon, a…
MySpace Photo and Internet Gang Roster Evidence Improperly Admitted — People v. Beckley
[Post by Venkat] People v. Beckley, Case No. B212529 (Cal. Ct. App. June 9, 2010) Two defendants were convicted of a gang-related homicide in this case. MySpace Photos: The girlfriend of one of the defendants offered an alibi that one…
Updates to the Outed Judge-Commenter’s Lawsuit Against the Plain Dealer — Saffold v. Plain Dealer
[Post by Venkat] I posted a while ago on the lawsuit brought by Judge Saffold against the Plain Dealer newspaper where she alleges the newspaper improperly outed her as a commenter in breach of its privacy policy. A few updates:…
Beverly Stayart Strikes Again! This Time, Stayart Sues Google
By Eric Goldman Stayart v. Google, Inc., 2:10-cv-00336-LA (E.D. Wis. complaint filed April 20, 2010) I’ve previously blogged about Beverly Stayart (a/k/a Bev Stayart) and her mockable lawsuit against Yahoo. She has repeatedly declared that she is the only Beverly…
Google Sued for Publishing Home Address–Harris v. Google
By Eric Goldman Harris v. Google, Inc., 1:10-cv-21119-AJ (complaint removed to S.D. Fla. April 8, 2010). The original complaint filed in state court. Google’s removal to federal court. Jonathon Harris sells rare coins. His business office is in Stuart, Florida,…