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View Full Version : Apparently You Can Sue Google And Win



vangogh
03-06-2009, 06:23 PM
Interesting story at the Huffington Post. Why I Sued Google and Won (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-greenspan/why-i-sued-google-and-won_b_172403.html).

Guy starts making money with AdSense and then has his account canceled for no reason. Tries to contact Google in many different ways to no avail. Decides to take them to small claims court and wins. His account is still banned, but he does recover the $721 owed to him.

It's an interesting story and also has some thoughtful points about Google's advertising system

nighthawk
03-07-2009, 06:57 AM
It certainly is an interesting story.

Google is far too dominant in the online advertising market, and their closed system is no good thing. They have far too much power, and it is too easy for them just to turn round and delete someones account, without giving a reason, and with no chance of appeal.

Hopefully this case will lead to more scrutiny of googles behaviour and eventually lead to tighter regulation on what they are doing, ideally opening up their systems to allow independent investigators to monitor what they are doing.

vangogh
03-07-2009, 11:41 AM
Something tells me this lawsuit won't change anything, but it would be nice if Google was a little more open about how their advertising system works. I understand they need to keep many aspects of it secret, but they really should let you know why you've been dropped from AdSense and be more responsive to people asking why it happened.

They're a little too closed at the moment, which makes it too easy for them to take advantage of things. Not saying they're being evil, but being so closed makes it easy for them to be evil if they wanted.

Business Attorney
03-07-2009, 11:46 AM
Thanks for posting this, Steve. I doubt that many people will take the time and trouble to do what Aaron Greenspan did, but it certainly shows the value of a smalls claims court for the "little" guy.

vangogh
03-07-2009, 11:53 AM
I was surprised when I first heard the story, but it's a nice win for the little guy. A lot of people sue Google, though the cases are usually frivolous IMO. People suing because Google doesn't rank them #1 or things like that. This time the guy had a legitimate case and seems like he deserved to win. His story does show some flaws in the way Google handles aspects of AdSense.

orion_joel
03-07-2009, 03:37 PM
What i think this story highlights more then anything is that Google is in fact a big company that tries to use this to it's advantage. And really cannot downsize what it is doing to compete on the small front.

All they needed to do was have a even slightly plausible reason as to why his account was canceled, and they could have passed it but it seems, they did not even put in a whole lot of effort to try and provide this.

vangogh
03-07-2009, 04:59 PM
I agree. That's the big issue here. That Google remains so closed they can't even offer a reason why this guy's AdSense account was closed. I wouldn't expect they'd offer ever spammer out there a reason and I know they have to keep some parts of the system behind closed doors, but they should be more open and transparent about some aspects of what's going on.

cbscreative
03-07-2009, 05:34 PM
Great story. What's sad is this kind of thing goes on a lot, and because it's such a pain to fight back, most people just suffer their losses. The details of the story were very familiar. Our justice system is based on innocent until proven guilty, but when you are dealing with some of these large companies, it's guilty until proven innocent. It's always inspiring when someone wins because there are so many horror stories with bullies muscling the little guy.

Marcomguy
03-08-2009, 12:56 PM
It also helped that Greenspan was in the same county as Google. If someone sued Google in, say, Memphis, would Google send a representative to the court?

I haven't read the AdSense contract, but it probably says something about jurisdiction for lawsuits.

vangogh
03-08-2009, 01:40 PM
If Google didn't send a representative wouldn't the person suing them win by default? Would you have to sue them in their county anyway?

nighthawk
03-08-2009, 09:18 PM
If Google didn't send a representative wouldn't the person suing them win by default? Would you have to sue them in their county anyway?

I would have thought so - if you dont turn up in court to plead your defense, then you surely lose by default?

I believe you can sue in any court you wish - Im sure I have read stories of people filing suit in a court that is more friendly to the type of case they are bringing, and in which neither of the parties lived. In any case I would have thought you would be able to sue in your own local court, rather than in the defendants local court.

Evan
03-08-2009, 10:07 PM
It also helped that Greenspan was in the same county as Google. If someone sued Google in, say, Memphis, would Google send a representative to the court?

I haven't read the AdSense contract, but it probably says something about jurisdiction for lawsuits.

You cannot sue Google from Memphis unless they are registered to do business in that state. Tennessee probably has no jurisdiction over Google, but California does.

If the defendant does not show up to a small claims case, the plaintiff does win by default.

Evan
03-08-2009, 10:20 PM
You cannot sue Google from Memphis unless they are registered to do business in that state. Tennessee probably has no jurisdiction over Google, but California does.

If the defendant does not show up to a small claims case, the plaintiff does win by default.

Though I should add that it is possible for both parties to agree to have their case heard in a certain jurisdiction. The idea is feasible. But if both don't agree, your options are limited.

In theory, this is how arbitration works too. Both parties must agree to it. Sometimes it's forced by contract.