Plaintiff is the manufacturer of high-end military style watches, known as MTM Special Ops watches. Defendant, retailer Amazon.com, does not sell these watches, but when a potential buyer inserts “MTM Special Ops” onto its website, a message will direct the person to related searches of “MTM special ops watch,” and show images of watches manufactured […]
Internet Games Just Like “One-Armed Bandits” (Slot Machines) & Violate California Law.
Internet cafes offer devices that resemble traditional casino-style slot machines in some ways and offer users the chance to win sweepstakes prizes, but because they employ modern technology, the devices differ from traditional slot machines in some ways. Pursuant to Penal Code section 330b, slot machines are illegal in California. In relevant part, the statute […]
Printed Name At The Bottom Of Several E-mails Not Enough To Show There Was A Settlement.
Plaintiffs filed a motion pursuant of Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6, to enforce a settlement. In concluding there was a settlement, the trial court found e-mails coupled with a voice mail qualified as an electronic signature under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act [Civil Code section 1633.1, et seq.; UETA]. The Court of Appeal reversed, […]
No Showing Electronic Signature Was That Of Plaintiff, So Motion To Compel Arbitration Denied.
In a class action wage and hour action, the trial court denied defendant’s petition to compel arbitration, implicitly finding defendant did not present evidence to support its claim there was an arbitration agreement. At the hearing, defendant asserted plaintiff electronically signed a 2011 arbitration agreement, but did not explain how it verified there was such […]
Call Me This And Call Me That, But Call Yourself. . .Outside The Jurisdiction Of California.
In a Facebook spat between skin care product competitors, one sued the other for defamation. Plaintiff resides in California, but defendant does not. The appellate court held that posting defamatory statements about another person on Facebook, “while knowing that person resides in the forum state, is insufficient in itself to create the minimum contacts necessary […]
Unsuccessful False Advertising Claim Based On Misrepresentations In Commercial E-Mails.
Business and Professions Code section 17529.5 states it is unlawful to advertise in a commercial email when it contains or is accompanied by falsified, misrepresented or forged header information. The plaintiffs here brought an action under that statute on the theory the advertiser “sent them unsolicited commercial email advertisements purporting to be from ‘Proactiv Special […]
Hits On Google.
In this matter seeking extraordinary relief, a plaintiff corporation made efforts to obtain copies of email messages stored by Google, Inc. on behalf of a defendant. Defendant moved to quash the request and the trial court ordered Google to produce the emails, based on its conclusion the defendant had deemed to have given his consent. […]
Dismissal Reversed In Case Where Website Owners Did Not Warn User Of Rapists.
Plaintiff is an aspiring model who posted information about herself on a networking website for models. In her action against the website owners, she alleges that two rapists used the website to lure her to a fake audition, where they drugged her, raped her, and recorded her for a pornographic video. She also alleges that […]
Yelp Cannot Misrepresent Its Filtering Methods.
Yelp operates a website that serves as a free social media website and search engine, available to the public at no charge. Users who register may post reviews about local businesses, and can rate a business using a star rating of one to five stars, with five stars being the highest rating. Yelp constantly battles […]
Arbitration: But Don’t Click On The Orange Button!
Class action plaintiffs claimed they were scammed on the internet after giving their credit card information. Allegedly unbeknownst to plaintiff, instead of making a one-time purchase, he somehow agreed to pay $19.95 a month. The internet company moved to compel the matter into arbitration, contending that the named plaintiff “agreed to arbitration by clicking the orange […]