Sunday, December 5, 2010

How Bloody Boring!

An American couple has sued Google for taking Street View photos of their family home...and won.
But was it worth all the legal effort?
A US court this week awarded Aaron and Christine Boring damages of $1 on the trespassing charges, which Google has agreed to pay. Yes - amazingly - that IS the real amount of damages awarded: $1! And yeup - amazingly too - that IS their real name: Boring!
The Boring family sued Google back in 2008 for "privacy, trespassing, negligence, and unjust enrichment" after photographs of their Pennsylvania home showed up on Street View (just as pix of most of our homes did). A judge dismissed the case in February 2009 because the Borings had failed to prove the images had caused them any real distress. The oh-so Borings filed an appeal, and in February 2010, the appeals court said the couple could pursue their trespassing claim.
The *yawn* Borings did just that... and won! And the court awarded them... $1. Boring! Ya gotta ask: was it all worth it? The court pretty much asked the same thing.
From their perspective, I guess that's not the real point - it's the principle they were making a stand for, so right now they'll be feeling nicely vindicated.
Wonder what they'll do with the $1? Frame it?
How boring...

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