Lawyers sue spammer

The largest law firm in California, with more than 1,000 lawyers in 18 offices internationally, has filed suit against an email marketing company, claiming it has bombarded it with thousands of unsolicited email advertisements.

Morrison & Foerster said its lawsuit against Etracks.com is based on two California anti-spam statutes. The first forbids the use of California-based equipment to transmit unsolicited email to the service provider's users if the provider's policy prohibits such use of its equipment.

The complaint also claims that Etracks violated a second statute because it failed to include in its email messages a subject line with the legally required advertising label.

In addition, Etracks failed to include either a toll-free number or a valid return email address for removal from the marketer's lists.

The law firm claims that even after Etracks was notified of the policy against spam, it sent at least 6,5000 unsolicited emails, which included online gambling, wireless services and psychic readings, to the firm's users over six months.

Michael Jacobs, who is handling the case for the firm, said the company is a business that lives on email now. "So it's very important we make the tool as productive as possible. This spam coupled with other spam is a big problem."

With few exceptions, US state law enforcers are not taking action against spammers.

However, California approved a bill in September 1998 that requires unsolicited commercial email to include opt-out instructions and contact information, and that opt-out requests be honoured.

The law firm has asked the court to stop Etracks from sending further unsolicited emails. It is also seeking additional relief, which includes attorneys' fees and damages of $50 for each email delivered in violation of the law, up to $25,000 per day.

Etracks.com, which was unavailable to comment, was established in 1996. The company sells proprietary technologies which allow the rapid deployment of comprehensive direct marketing campaigns through interactive email broadcast.