For Immediate Release
Roseville, CA (9/14/2006)
- Roseville, California based
Infinite Monkeys & Co., LLC
has filed suit in California Superior Court
against bulk e-mail advertising firm
OptInRealBig.Com, LLC,
headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, its principal shareholder,
Scott Allen Richter, and four of
OptInRealBig's alleged advertising customers,
seeking monetary damages of
$27.4 million dollars,
as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from
using numerous different Internet domain names to
send unlawful commercial e-mail advertisments.
The complaint, filed in Santa Clara Country on Friday, alleges that
the defendants and their agents
violated California's Business and Professions Code
Section 17529.5
which prohibits deceptive and misrepresentative
e-mail advertising sent either to or from California.
Also alleged in the complaint are trespass to chattel,
violations of California's Business and Professions Code
Section 17200
(unfair competition),
and violations of California's Business and Professions Code
Section 17500 (false advertising).
OptInRealBig and self-described ``Spam King'' Richter, are no strangers to
litigation. In addition to having been sued for its
e-mail marketing practices in both Utah and California,
the company was also previously
sued by software giant Microsoft in Washington State,
along with Richter personally,
over their bulk e-mail advertising tactics.
OptInRealBig was also the target of a
separate lawsuit filed by
New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer which alleged
``violation of New York state law
prohibiting deceptive business practices.''
(Both suits have now been
settled.)
OptInRealBig hasn't always been on the receiving end however.
The company was the plaintiff in a
suit
it brought in 2004 against spam-blocking company
SpamCop
alleging interference by SpamCop with OptInRealBig's bulk e-mail
advertising business.
After being sued by the New York Attorney General for
$20 million,
and separately, by Microsoft for another
$18.8 million
OptInRealbig and Richter
filed for bankruptcy, from which they have both since
emerged,
but only after agreeing to pay
$7 million to Microsoft and agreeing to ongoing
monitoring of their e-mailing practices.
Also named as a defendant in Infinite Monkeys' suit is one of OptInRealBig's
alleged advertising
customers, St. Petersburg, Florida based
National Associate Credit Services, Inc.,
which appears to have had its own previous run-ins with
the Attorneys General of
Illinois and
North Carolina
over its own marketing practices.
According to the
Florida Attorney General's web site,
the company is also currently
under investigation
in its own home state of Florida.
Infinite Monkeys has pledged that up to one quarter (25%) of the net proceeds of
its suit against OptInRealBig
will be used to reimburse
both past and future targets of spammer-initiated meritless
lawsuits for
their defense legal fees and expenses.
About the company:
Infinite Monkeys & Co. LLC
develops and licenses software tools and packages in a variety of
categories, including automated software testing tools, network
security scanning and validation, and e-mail message processing.
The company also provides contract software development and
consulting services.
The company also supports activities which oppose illegal spam.
Additional information about the company's products and services
is available on the
company's web site.
Company contact information:
Infinite Monkeys & Co. LLC
1828 E. Roseville Pkwy., #1828
Roseville, CA 95661
Tel: +1 916 786 7945
Fax: +1 916 786 5311
E-mail: Use Web Form