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Maryland Appeals Court Makes Important Spam Decision
On January 26th, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals rendered the decision in MaryCLE, LLC v. First Choice Internet Inc. which upheld the State of Maryland’s legislative jurisdiction over email solicitations or “spam” sent from other states.
The plaintiff was a law student who had formed a company with the stated intention of “protecting consumers by the promotion of acceptable market practices, mediation and litigation”. His Internet service provider joined him in the action. The defendants were an individual and his corporate alter ego that were “promot[ing] products for various third-party customers through ‘opt-in’ email mailings and promotions[.]”.
The action was brought under the Maryland Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“MCEMA”), which allows state residents to sue for $500 for every misleading or fraudulent email they receive. Internet service providers can sue for $1000 per message.
Three major rulings came down from the bench: (i) personal jurisdiction over New York defendants was granted on the basis of spam email sent to Maryland, (ii) the legislation under which the action was brought did not violate the interstate commerce provisions of the U.S. constitution, and (iii) the use of a shell corporation to send spam does not protect an individual spammer. Central to the reasoning behind each of these rulings is that the conduct in question was “in the nature of a tort.”
The court did not rule on whether the conduct of the defendant actually was a violation of MCEMA, but cleared the way for such a claim to go forward. This decision, while only of persuasive value in other jurisdictions, sets an important precedent about legislators’ ability to provide consumers with an effective tool to fight spam.
For a copy of the decision, visit:
http://www.courts.state.md.us/opinions/cosa/2006/2321s04.pdf