Nicole Del Vecchio v. Amazon.Com, Inc.

Nicole Del Vecchio v. Amazon.Com, Inc., No. C11-366-RSL, U.S. Dist. Ct., W.D. of Wash., 2011:

The court dismissed this case against Amazon because Plaintiff failed to show injury and the Court was also skeptical as to whether Amazon’s practices were unfair or deceptive.

Issue:

Whether Amazon violated the Plaintiffs’ rights with their Internet cookie system?

 

Procedure:

  • Plaintiffs sued Amazon for a class action under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, and Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”). They also assert claims for common law trespass to chattels and unjust enrichment.
  • Amazon filed a motion to dismiss.

 

Plaintiff:

  • Amazon masked their sites cookies in deceptive ways in order to be accepted into computers that otherwise blocked cookies
  • This resulted in a misappropriation of Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ confidential personal information and [personally identifiable information] in which they have economic and property interests and (ii) damage to and consumption of their Computer Assets
  • These injuries led to “economic harms,” including “lack of proper value-for-value exchanges, undisclosed opportunity costs, devaluation of personal information, [and] loss of the economic value of the information as an asset.” at 15. They also contend that the alleged damage to and consumption of the computer resources, i.e., that the transfer of cookies required computer resources, diminished the performance and value of their computer resources.

 

Amazon:

  • Plaintiffs’ complaint fails to allege any plausible harm to Plaintiffs and therefore they have no standing
  • Moreover, the Plaintiffs’ consent to Amazon’s actions negates each of their claims

 

Conclusion:

  • Court agreed with Amazon and dismissed the case
  • Under CFAA, Plaintiffs would need to show they suffered at least $5,000 to come under the law, which they have not
  • Even without dismissal on that ground, Plaintiff’s agreed to COU and Privacy Notice in which Amazon gave notice of their cookie system
On April 8, 2016   /   Law Library