Annie Youderian reports:
A federal judge in San Francisco trimmed the federal claims from a class action accusing AOL of illegally publishing a database of the search queries of more than 650,000 members.
A group of California AOL members said the online publication of their queries violated various California consumer protection laws and three federal laws: the Electronic Communications Privacy and federal laws against unjust enrichment and the public disclosure of private facts.
AOL argued that its users were required to sue in Virginia courts based on a forum selection clause in their member agreements.
U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong initially dismissed the complaint, but the 9th Circuit reversed and remanded, specifying that the AOL member agreement is “unenforceable as to California resident plaintiffs bringing class action claims under California consumer law.
AOL argued that this 9th Circuit mandate meant that all other claims not based on California consumer protection laws had to be dismissed.
Judge Armstrong agreed.
Read more on Courthouse News. The case is Doe1, Doe2, and Ramkissoon v. AOL.