Facebook, Inc. v. CONNECTU LLC

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Facebook, Inc. contends that defendant ConnectU, Inc . engaged in common law misappropriation and violated numerous statutes when it allegedly collected email addresses of Facebook’s registered users posted on its website and then sent commercial email to those persons. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), ConnectU moves to dismiss portions of the complaint. The motion was fully briefed and heard by the Court on May 2, 2007. Based on all papers filed to date, as well as on the oral argument of all the parties, the Court grants the motion in part and denies it in part.

II. BACKGROUND

This action was removed from Santa Clara Superior Court when Facebook filed an amended complaint containing claims giving rise to federal question jurisdiction. Facebook and ConnectU operate competing social networking websites on the Internet. Facebook contends that ConnectU accessed the Facebook website to collect “millions” of email addresses of Facebook, and then sent emails to those users soliciting their patronage. Specifically, Facebook alleges ConnectU hired defendant Pacific…