Whitepages Dupes Consumers in 'Unscrupulous' Membership Scheme, Alleges Plaintiff

Whitepages designed its terms of service “in an oppressive and unscrupulous manner” to avoid liability for its “ongoing scheme” to “deceive consumers,” alleged a complaint Friday (docket 2:24-cv-00121) in U.S. District Court for Western Washington in Seattle. Plaintiff Rosa Lee Klaneski, of Farmington, Connecticut, entered into a contract with Whitepages “several years” prior to the complaint, under which she paid $4.99 monthly, now $5.99 per month, for a “premium membership” that enabled ad-free searches for individuals throughout the U.S., the complaint said. As part of her “personal lookups,” Whitepages sent unsolicited emails to her inbox informing her of additional data relevant to individuals she was searching, “or who were related somehow to the individuals she was searching," it said. One email she received said a social acquaintance of hers, known to have “only the highest of morals and scruples” now had a criminal record as part of her public record, the complaint said. Enticed by the subject line, “New Criminal Record Update,” Klaneski was solicited in the email to buy a background report revealing the advertised criminal record for $19.99, plus taxes and fees. Though the information was accurate, the “'new criminal record was actually a traffic citation from 2006” for illegal display of a handicapped plate in a parked vehicle, “a non-moving vehicular violation whose criminality and newness was suspect,” the complaint said. Klaneski sued Whitepages in her local Connecticut small claims court over “what she believed to be a garden variety dispute over the merchantability of virtual goods alleging unfair trade practices but not a federal question,” she said. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss, saying what it called “new information” was new to its database. Such an answer “offends all notions of fair play,” said Klaneski, who alleged in her amended complaint in that action a violation of the Can-Spam Act. From April 20 to Nov. 23, Whitepages emailed Klaneski, “no fewer than 800 times” about new records, with only slight relevance and “suspect” connection to her, said the complaint. Whitepages sells “unmerchantable data through misleading spam emails and it avoids liability through an unconscionable terms of service that limits the redressability of grievances,” the complaint said. Klaneski 's claims include violation of the Can-Spam Act and Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, breach of contract, tortious interference with business expectancies and unjust enrichment. She seeks compensatory, statutory and punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, an order of restitution, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.