In October of 2014, I blogged about the Roslowski et al. v. Guthy-Renker LLC decision pertaining to California Business & Professions Code §17529.5(a)(2) and (3), and the issue of identifying the sender in the body of commercial email. The decision can be found, here.
On February 11, 2015, the California Supreme Court denied the request of several non-parties to de-publish the decision of the California Court of Appeal. California Rules of Court provide that a Court of Appeal opinion should be certified for publication if it meets one of nine criterion, including establishing a new rule of law, or applying an existing law to new facts.
Under Rule 8.1125(a) of the California Rules of Court, any person may request that the Supreme Court of California order that an opinion not be published. In denying the request for de-publication, the Supreme Court let the Guthy-Renker Court of Appeal decision stand, which permits a review of the email’s body to determine whether email header or subject line information is materially false, deceptive, or misleading under Cal. Bus. & Pro. Code §17529.5.
Of course, California Business & Professions Code Section 17529.5 continues to prohibit falsified, misrepresented or forged header information, as well as misleading subject lines. Plaintiffs’ SPAM attorneys will almost certainly challenge this ruling as being limited to its specific facts and a violation of legislative intent. Commercial email marketers and advertisers are, therefore, well advised to endeavor to identify the actual advertiser or sender in “from” names and use traceable mailing domains.
Contact an experienced SPAM defense law attorney to ensure that you are compliant with state and federal email marketing regulations, or if you are faced with an email marketing litigation matter.
Information conveyed in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute, nor should it be relied upon, as legal advice. No person should act or rely on any information in this article without seeking the advice of an attorney.
