lawsuits

The terms of a 2006 settlement in a lawsuit against Netflix will be allowed to stand over the objections of four Netflix subscribers, according to a report by Reuters.

In the initial lawsuit, the customers accused the company of "throttling." They alleged that Netflix held up delivery of DVDs to customers who were heavier users of the service--and therefore less profitable--in order to fill orders for new customers and less frequent users.

In 2006, Netflix reached a settlement agreement, but the four Netflix subscribers challenged it, saying the attorneys' fees awarded by the trial court were "excessive&… Read more

In a tiff over its 28.4 percent share in Craigslist, auction giant eBay has filed suit against the online classifieds site in a Delaware court of chancery. According to Reuters, eBay has accused Craigslist's board of directors of diluting its share.

The court confirmed that eBay filed its complaint Tuesday afternoon but could not provide further details, because the suit was filed under seal.

In a phone conversation, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said, "We're still trying to digest it," and recommended contacting CEO Jim Buckmaster for further comment. Buckmaster did not immediately reply to an … Read more

Updated 2:30 p.m. PDT with comment from the plaintiff lawyer.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court accuses Google of deceiving its customers into paying for ads they didn't expressly request.

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, was filed by the firm of Kabateck Brown Kellner in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on behalf of David Almeida, a Massachusetts-based private investigator who enrolled in Google AdWords in November 2006.

When participating in Google's online auction-based advertising system, customers specify what they would be willing to pay per-click for words or phrases that … Read more

As if troubled movie rental company Blockbuster didn't have enough to deal with already: an angry Facebook user has taken issue with its participation in the social network's controversial Beacon advertising program, and is pursuing legal action.

Cathryn Elaine Harris, a Texas resident, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for eastern Texas on April 9, claiming that it's a violation of a federal statute for Blockbuster to participate in Beacon, which shares rental history on Facebook members' "news feeds" unless they manually opt out. She is seeking class-action status, hoping to eventually … Read more

A lawsuit against Microsoft that's already unveiled several juicy tidbits about the company is on hold, according to Ars Technica.

In late February, a U.S. District judge in Seattle ruled that consumers could move forward with a class-action lawsuit over the manner in which Microsoft advertised computers leading up to the release of its Windows Vista operating system. Microsoft is appealing that decision, and any further disclosures will be on hold pending the review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the report.

The lawsuit revolves around customers' complaints that PCs they bought had been advertised … Read more

Earlier on Monday, reports surfaced that Facebook may be close to a settlement on its longstanding legal dispute with former rival ConnectU, after several years of dismissals, appeals, and general unpleasantry. But a recent court ruling suggests that the timing may not be entirely random: a judge in a U.S. court of appeals ruled that ConnectU was allowed to reinstate its case, reversing Facebook's request for dismissal.

Documents filed last Thursday from ConnectU vs. Zuckerberg et al., which has been handled in a Massachusetts district court, reveal that a senior circuit judge in the court of appeals opted … Read more

You're likely to be disappointed, those of you who were secretly hoping for an over-the-top, preppies-gone-nasty legal battle between Facebook's founders and the former Harvard classmates who claimed they filched their business plan.

According to Brad Stone of the New York Times, Facebook is reportedly close to settling the lawsuit that the founders of onetime social-networking site ConnectU have been pursuing for several years now.

According to the founders of ConnectU, twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and their business partner Divya Narendra, they hired current Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a programmer for ConnectU when they were all … Read more

Updated 3:20 p.m. PDT: Added Google saying the suit is without merit.

From the I-can't-believe-it-took-this-long file, a couple in Pittsburgh has sued Google claiming that the Street View on Google Maps is a reckless invasion of their privacy.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Aaron and Christine Boring say they bought their home in late 2006 partly because of its secluded location on a street that is "clearly marked with a 'Private Road' sign."

Google Street View was expanded to Pittsburgh in October. The Borings found that their home was clearly visible on the map, causing … Read more

There is a ton of interesting information in the documents that have been released as part of the Windows Vista Capable lawsuit.

There's the juicy e-mails that show Microsoft caving to pressure from Intel and lowering the graphics requirements to get the Vista Capable sticker. There's also Dell outlining all of the problems it had with Microsoft in getting Vista to market as well as with its many readiness programs.

For those that want to give the full documents a read, the Seattle Post-Intellingencer has posted the complete PDF files of the documents, linked to from this blog … Read more