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Dana
B.
Taschner, State Bar
No.
135494LANIER LAW FIRM,
PC
2029 Century Park EastSuite 1400Los Angeles, CA 90067Phone: (310) 277-5100Fax: (310) 277-5103dbt@1anierlawfirm.comW. Mark LanierLANIER LAW FIRM,
PC
6810 FM 1960 WestHouston, Texas 77069Phone: (713) 659-5200Fax: (713) 659-2204Attorneys for Plaintiffs
FILED
SUPERIOR COURT
OF
CALIFORCOUNTY
OF
ORANGE
CI!NTAAL
JUSTICE
CENTER
AUG
172009
A ~ N
CARLSON, Clerk of
the
Court
F.
IBARRA
,DEPUTY
SUPERIOR COURT
OF
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIACOUNTY OF
ORANGE
30-2009
CASE NO.ELISHA MELKONIAN, XAVIER
0.,
a
~
00293755
))
COMPLAINT FOR:minor by and through his guardian
ad
_litem, CHRIS
C.,
a minor by and through
~
1) VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA CIVILhis guardian ad litem, CATHERINE AIKO,
l
and ELVINA BECK,Plaintiffs,
V.
FACEBOOK, INC., a DelawareCorporation, and DOES 1-100, inclusive,Defendants,2))
)
3)
~
~
CODE
§
3344MISAPPROPRIATION OF NAME
AND
LIKENESSUNFAIR COMPETITION AND
FALSE
ADVERTISING UNDER
CALIFORNIA
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONSCODE
§
172004) VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA
)
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO
~
PRIVACY)5) VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA
~
ONLINE PRIVACY
ACT
)
)
)
DEMAND FOR
JURY
TRIAL)
)
JUDGE
l \ ; c ~ D ; ; 7 { E V I /
P.
BANKS
- - ~ ~
- - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - -
DEPT.
C11
Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief -1
IA
Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief - 2
123456789101112131415241617181920212223
1. This is a private Attorney General action brought by on behalf of Plaintiffsand the general public to remedy violations of California’s Civil Code Section 3344,California Constitutional Rights of Privacy, the California Online Privacy Act, ConsumerLegal Remedies Act (CLRA), California Civil Code Sections 1750 et seq, and the UnfairTrade Practices Act, California Business & Professions §17200, arising out ofDefendants’ commercial misappropriation of Plaintiff’s’ names, photographs, likenesses,and private information. Plaintiffs relied on Defendant’s misrepresentations andomissions of material facts, and violations of California’s privacy and right of publicitylaws.
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2. Facebook is the nation’s foremost social networking website. It is ownedand operated by Facebook, Inc. Facebook markets itself as a social utility that connectspeople with friends and others who work, study and live around them. Facebook hasbecome one of the fastest growing websites with reports of a million new Users signingup each week. It is now one of the top websites in the U.S. with more than 250 millionPlaintiffs ELISHA MELKONIAN, XAVIER O., a minor by and through his guardianad litem, CHRIS C., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem, CATHERINE AIKO,and ELVINA BECK (collectively, “Plaintiffs’”), on behalf of themselves and the generalpublic, allege all on information and belief the following against Defendants,FACEBOOK, INC., (hereinafter referred to as “Facebook”) and Does 1 through 100,inclusive, for violations of California Civil Code Section 3344, California ConstitutionalRights of Privacy, the California Online Privacy Act, Consumer Legal Remedies Act(CLRA), California Civil Code Section 1750, Unfair Competition and False AdvertisingUnder Business and Professions Code Section 17200, and other claims.
I. INTRODUCTION & SUMMARY OF ACTION
Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief - 3
123
Users. Much of that phenomenal growth can be attributed to Users’ trust in thecompany’s privacy assurances. Users are led to believe that access to the data theypost is limited to other Users they have expressly authorized.
4815212728567
3. Facebook’s business model, however, has transformed from that of asocial network into that of a a data mining company. Facebook actively seeks to openand/or disseminate private information to third parties for commercial purposes andeconomic benefit.
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4. Facebook’s interface and website architecture – whereby Users accept orignore “friend” requests with the expectation that personal data is shared only withauthorized “friends” – causes Users to believe and understand that personal informationand photos uploaded to Facebook are private. Users may be unaware that data theysubmit, or that data others submit about them, may be extracted and then shared,stored, licensed, or downloaded by other persons or third parties they have notexpressly authorized.
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5. On information and belief, Plaintiffs allege that Facebook’s licenseagreement amounts to effective ownership and perpetual title to all data uploaded toFacebook by any source even if a Facebook User terminates service. On informationand belief, Plaintiffs allege that Facebook has ignored or failed to comply with Userrequests to cease and desist posting of personal or private information including postingof photographs or images owned by Users or depicting Users.
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6. Original work, in the form of writings or photographs or other images inany tangible medium including the Internet is protected by state and federal law uponcreation. Uploading or downloading of protected works without the authority of thecreator or owner is an infringement of that creator or owner’s exclusive right ofreproduction and distribution. State and federal laws protect publicity rights, as well asownership rights such as copyright.
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Melkonian v. Facebook complaint over privacy concerns brought by the Lanier Law Firm
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