Forum Selection – Bow Tie Law

A Civ Pro Review of Jurisdiction

July 3, 2012 Josh Gilliland Civil Procedure, Forum Selection, General Jurisdiction, Personal Jurisdiction

Judge Susan Illston could not simply Tweet her decision with 140 characters in Twitter, Inc. v. Skootle Corp. Twitter sued the Defendants on numerous causes of action for the Defendants’ alleged spamming activity, including breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, fraud, and unfair or deceptive business practices. Twitter, Inc.[…]

Clicking “Deny” on Transferring Venue Based on an Online Forum Selection Clause

October 13, 2011 Josh Gilliland Forum Selection, Privacy

The Defendant in Dunstan v. Comscore, Inc., was a company that offered “free” screen savers and games that monitor a user’s Internet usage, which is then sold for marketing research or analysis of online behavior. After being sued for purportedly improperly obtaining personal information in violation of the Stored Communication[…]

Almost Famous…on a Social Networking Site with a Forum Selection Clause

June 5, 2009 Josh Gilliland Change of Venue, Choice of Law, Contract Law, Forum Selection, Personal Jurisdiction, Social Networking

The ease of creating a MySpace profile (or Twitter) that impersonates a celebrity has to be nerve racking for actors, rock stars, and anyone else who is “famous.” Riggs v. Myspace, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37109 (W.D. Pa. May 5, 2009) is the story of a Plaintiff who created[…]

A Note on Judicial Notice of Blogs and Admissibility of Electronically Stored Information

April 20, 2009 Josh Gilliland Admissibility, Anti-SLAPP, Blogging, e-Discovery, Forum Selection, Hearsay, Judicial Notice

In a trade secret case, the Defendants attempted to strike the Plaintiffs’ complaint pursuant to the California Anti-SLAPP statute. The Defendants failed to make a prima facie showing that the complaint arose from protected activity. World Fin. Group v. Hbw Ins. & Fin. Servs., 2009 Cal. App. LEXIS 553 (Cal.[…]

When Contract Law Collides with Social Networking & Online Movie Rentals

April 18, 2009 Josh Gilliland Choice of Law, Contract Law, Discovery, e-Discovery, Facebook, Forum Selection, Illusory Contract, Online Movie Rental, Social Networking

Every now and then, there comes a case that gives me law school flashbacks. Professor Rohwer, my old Contracts professor, this one’s for you. Harris v. Blockbuster, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31531 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 15, 2009) involves Blockbuster allegedly violating the Video Privacy Protection Act. Blockbuster Online (an online[…]