San Diego Small Claims: Ellen Spertus Vs. Spam
San Diego small claims court is used to seeing cases for damaged goods, unpaid rent, and other minor disputes, but for spam? Is spam the new small claims trend?
Ellen Spertus had received an email from Kozmo. The problem was, Spertus had declined to receive e-mails from Kozmo and had even tried (without success) contacting the companys privacy department to alert them to the situation. When the e-mails did not stop coming, Spertus sued. Her judgment was a $50 award plus $27.50 in court fees.
This may seem like a paltry sum and a very insignificant type of offense to take to San Diego small claims court. However, consider it in a broad context. If you were to receive hand written or mailed notes from a person after you have specially told them not to contact you, you would have a harassment case on your hands. Is there any difference if the messages are coming through e-mail? Spam is mostly just of an advertising nature, but some spam is quite malicious. It can contain viruses or worms and at the least is just plain annoying. If the opt-out option is ignored, why not make a visit to San Diego small claims?
Apparently, this idea may be catching on, according to certain spam watchers. While San Diego small claims may not be 50% spam cases, it may be something we could actually see in the future. When it comes to spam, there are very few resources available to those who are fed up with it. Perhaps if more people took this problem to San Diego small claims court, the spammers would sit up and take notice.
When you consider her possible time away from work as well as her court fees, the judgment was probably a break even for Spertus. However, what she lacked in financial gain may be more than made up for in the point she made. Spammers can be held accountable. Spertus may have just started a real movement in people vs. spam. Doubtless, San Diego small claims court will see more people following her brave example.
Ellen Spertus had received an email from Kozmo. The problem was, Spertus had declined to receive e-mails from Kozmo and had even tried (without success) contacting the companys privacy department to alert them to the situation. When the e-mails did not stop coming, Spertus sued. Her judgment was a $50 award plus $27.50 in court fees.
This may seem like a paltry sum and a very insignificant type of offense to take to San Diego small claims court. However, consider it in a broad context. If you were to receive hand written or mailed notes from a person after you have specially told them not to contact you, you would have a harassment case on your hands. Is there any difference if the messages are coming through e-mail? Spam is mostly just of an advertising nature, but some spam is quite malicious. It can contain viruses or worms and at the least is just plain annoying. If the opt-out option is ignored, why not make a visit to San Diego small claims?
Apparently, this idea may be catching on, according to certain spam watchers. While San Diego small claims may not be 50% spam cases, it may be something we could actually see in the future. When it comes to spam, there are very few resources available to those who are fed up with it. Perhaps if more people took this problem to San Diego small claims court, the spammers would sit up and take notice.
When you consider her possible time away from work as well as her court fees, the judgment was probably a break even for Spertus. However, what she lacked in financial gain may be more than made up for in the point she made. Spammers can be held accountable. Spertus may have just started a real movement in people vs. spam. Doubtless, San Diego small claims court will see more people following her brave example.
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