Jan.-Feb. 2011 Quick Links, Part 4
By Eric Goldman Internet Freedom * The EFF points out the inconsistency between Hillary Clinton’s speech championing Internet freedom abroad when our own US government has gone rogue on its own citizens, including unlawful domain name seizures and an obsessive…
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…
Class Action Brought by “Lonely and Vulnerable” Men Against Online Cupid Site Moves Forward — Badella v. Deniro Mktg.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments by Eric] Badella v. Deniro Marketing LLC, 10-03908 CRB (N.D. Cal.; Jan 24, 2011) This is a good one. A group of plaintiffs brought a putative class action against an online dating website…
CA Appeals Court: Claims Under State Spam Statute Not Preempted by CAN-SPAM – Hypertouch v. Valueclick
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments from Eric] Hypertouch, Inc. v. Valueclick, Inc., et al., B218603 (Cal. Ct. App.; Jan. 18, 2011) A California appeals court weighed in on a long-running debate: whether CAN-SPAM preempts California’s spam statute. This…
Lawyer-Spam Plaintiff Loses in the Sixth Circuit Over Allegedly Misleading DISH Network Emails — Ferron v. Echostar
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ferron v. Echostar Satellite LLC, 09-4407 (6th Cir.; Dec. 28, 2010) Ferron brought claims against Dish Network and its retail and marketing partners alleging that he had been deceived by the terms of email offers sent…
Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge to TCPA Based on Vagueness in “Prior Express Consent” Exception — Kramer v. Autobytel, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Kramer v. Autobytel, Inc., et al., 10-cv-02722 CW (N.D. Cal.; Dec. 29, 2010) We’ve blogged a bunch about cases involving defendants accused of sending text messages – none of them have resolved favorably in favor of…
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….
Domain Name Privacy Protection Services Not Liable for Failure to Disclose Identity of Alleged Spammer — Balsam v. Tucows
[Post by Venkat] Balsam v. Tucows, No. 09-17625 (9th Cir.; Dec. 16, 2010) Prolific spam litigant Dan Balsam sued the registrant of [adultactioncam.com] under California’s spam statute for allegedly sending Balsam thousands of pieces of spam. Balsam obtained a default…
Junk Fax Claim Fails Due to “Established Business Relationship” Exception — Cardinal Partners v. Fernandez Discipline
[Post by Venkat] Cardinal Partners, Ltd. v. Fernandez Discipline, LLC, Case No. L-10-1180 (Ohio Ct. App.; Nov. 19, 2010) Background: Toledo chiropractor Dr. William J. Houttekier II shared a fax number with Cardinal Partners (they both apparently had the same…
Melaleuca Files Second Lawsuit Following Dismissal of its CAN-SPAM Claims
[Post by Venkat] Melaleuca v. Hansen, Case 1:10-cv-00553 EJL (D.Idaho) (Nov. 10, 2010) I recently blogged about the dismissal of a CAN-SPAM case by a federal district court in Idaho. The district judge adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation, and dismissed…