SHARON LOVELACE BLACKBURN, District Judge.
On May 23, 2012, the Magistrate Judge filed his Report and Recommendation, (doc. 26),
The Report and Recommendation contains the following statement of "Facts and Procedural History":
(Id. at 9 ¶ 13)(emphasis added). Plaintiffs further allege that Google "touts its patented `Page Rank' algorithm (also called a `Black Box algorithm') to analyze which sites are the `best sources of information across the web' for its seller-assisted marketing plan" and that this algorithm has "afforded prominent placement in its search engine broadcasting to the Fictitious Defendants, as part of the seller-assisted marketing place of Defendants, for several years." (Id. at 8-9 ¶¶ 11-12). Plaintiffs seek monetary damages under ADTPA and to enjoin Google from doing business in the State of Alabama until its alleged violations of ADTPA cease. (Id. at 10-11).
Google timely removed the case to this court on December 7, 2011, premised upon diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). (Doc. 1). Plaintiffs moved to remand the action, which this court denied. (Docs. 13 & 20). Relevant at this stage of the litigation, fictitious party pleading is generally not permitted in federal court, and plaintiffs have made no showing that any limited exception might apply here. See, e.g., Richardson v. Johnson, 598 F.3d 734, 738 (11th Cir. 2010)("As a general matter, fictitious-party pleading is not permitted in federal court."); CSX Transp., Inc. v. United Transp. Union, 2007 WL 1643172, *1 n.1 (11th Cir. June 7, 2007)("the Federal Rules do not authorize suit against fictitious parties").
(Doc. 26 at 1-3 [emphasis in original].)
Although plaintiffs object that the factual allegations of their Complaint were not viewed in the light most favorable to them, (see doc. 28 at 7), they have not objected to any specific fact set forth in the Report and Recommendation that was not viewed in their favor. The court has reviewed the plaintiffs' Complaint and finds that the facts set forth in the Report and Recommendation summarize appropriately the facts stated in the Complaint. For purposes of the court's ruling on plaintiffs' Objections and Motion to Reconsider the court
In addition, the court notes the following additional facts are relevant to this court's review:
1. The Complaint alleges that Sonneberg, "the Alabama State General Agent for Plaintiff American Income Life Insurance Company," is a "`consumer' . . . of Defendant Google, Inc.'s search engine seller-assisted marketing plan delivering the web pages www.scam.com and www.pissedconsumer.com [hereinafter "gripe sites"]
The Complaint alleges that Google is engaged in a "seller-assisted marketing plan" pursuant to Ala. Code. § 8-19-5(20). The ADTPA defines a "seller-assisted marketing plan" as "any plan, scheme, or system in which for a consideration a buyer
(Id.) Plaintiffs allege that Google sold advertising to the gripe sites and assisted the gripe sites in achieving prominent placement in search results; this conduct does not constitute a "seller-assisted marketing plan" as defined by the ADTPA. Nothing in the Complaint alleges that Google sold or offered to sell goods and/or services to plaintiffs together with a plan or system for reselling those goods and/or services — as required to qualify as a seller-assisted marketing plan under the ADTPA.
Plaintiffs contend, "Plaintiff American Income Life Insurance Company is not a scam, and is, in fact, a reputable and upstanding business corporation engaged in the lawful and abov[e]-board business of selling insurance polices." (Doc. 1-1 at 9.) The alleged disparaging representation or misrepresentation is the assertion of fact that "American Income Life is a Scam." (Id.) The Complaint does not allege that defendant Google created this alleged statement of fact — only that it broadcast the statement and that it did not remove the statement from its web search results. (Id. at 6-10.)
Plaintiffs ask the court to reconsider the Magistrate Judge's Order denying their Motion to Remand. Plaintiffs previously objected to this Order and, after review, Judge Acker affirmed the Order denying plaintiffs' Motion to Remand. They now ask this court to review, again, the Order denyng their Motion to Remand.
Reconsideration of an interlocutory order is appropriate in three general circumstances: "(1) when a party presents the court with evidence of an intervening change in controlling law; (2) the availability of new evidence; or (3) the need to correct clear error or manifest injustice." Summit Med. Ctr. of Ala., Inc. v. Riley, 284 F.Supp.2d 1350, 1355 (M.D. Ala. 2003). Parties cannot use a motion to reconsider to relitigate old matters, to raise new legal arguments that could have been raised earlier, or to present new evidence that could have been presented earlier. See Michael Linet, Inc. v. Village of Wellington, Fla., 408 F.3d 757, 763 (11th Cir. 2005); Sanderlin v. Seminole Tribe of Fla., 243 F.3d 1282, 1292 (11th Cir. 2001). "[A] motion that merely republishes the reasons that had failed to convince the tribunal in the first place gives the tribunal no reason to change its mind." King v. Farris, 357 Fed. Appx. 223, 225 (11th Cir. 2009)(quoting Calle v. United States Attorney General, 504 F.3d 1324, 1329 (11th Cir. 2007)).
In this case, plaintiffs have not shown any reason to reconsider the Order denying their Motion to Remand.
Nevertheless, assuming plaintiffs had convinced the court to reconsider the Magistrate Judge's Order denying their Motion to Remand and Judge Acker's Order adopting the Magistrate Judge's Order, the court finds no error. The court rejects plaintiffs' contention that their request for injunctive relief contributes nothing to the calculation of the amount in controversy. (See doc. 28 at 5 [citing Ala. Code § 8-19-8(a)].) Section 8-19-10 of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act provides a private right of action to consumers and certain other individuals. This section does not exclude a claim for injunctive relief and, indeed, appears to assume such relief is available in a private cause of action. See Ala. Code § 8-19-10(a)(3)(allowing an award of attorneys fees "[i]n the case of any successful action . . . to enforce the foregoing liability or in which
Moreover, plaintiffs' Complaint requests injunctive relief. (Doc. 1-1 at 10-11.) These claims together with plaintiffs' demand for money damages up to, but not to exceed, $75,000, satisfy the jurisdictional amount in controversy. "If [plaintiff] does not desire to try his case in the federal court he may resort to the expedient of suing for less than the jurisdictional amount, and though he would be justly entitled to more, the defendant cannot remove." St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 294 (1938). This general rule, codified in 28 U.S.C. § 1446(c), has an exception: "If removal of a civil action is sought on the basis of the jurisdiction conferred by [28 U.S.C.] section 1332(a) [diversity jurisdiction], the sum demanded in good faith in the initial pleading shall be deemed to be the amount in controversy,
In their Complaint, plaintiffs allege that they suffered "millions of dollars" of damages as a result of defendant's violation of the ADTPA, but they limit their claim for money damages "to less than Seventy Five Thousand [Dollars] ($75,000.00), exclusive of interest and costs." (Doc. 1-1 at 10.) Based on this language, the court deems "the sum demanded in good faith in the initial pleading," 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), to be $74,999.99. In addition, they request,"[a]fter commencement by the Attorney General or local District Attorney of an action in the name of the State of Alabama against Defendant[], an order restraining by way of permanent injunction, their unlawful acts and practices, as provided by Code of Ala. § 8-19-8(a)," and "[a]n order enjoining Defendant[] from engaging in business in this state, for continuous and willful violations of the provisions of the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act, until such willful violations cease, as provided by Code of Ala. § [8-19-]8(c)." (Doc. 1-1 at 11.) "In general, to satisfy the jurisdictional amount a plaintiff's claims against a defendant may be aggregated." SUA Ins. Co. v. Classic Home Builders, L.L.C., 751 F.Supp.2d 1245, 1252 (S.D. Ala. 2010)(citing Snyder v. Harris, 394 U.S. 332, 335 (1969)). Therefore, to satisfy the amount in controversy, plaintiffs' requested non-monetary relief must be of some appreciable value to plaintiffs to push the amount in controversy over the $75,000 threshold. See Salazar v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 3:12-cv-00093-JEG, 2013 WL 6234584, *4-*5 (S.D. Iowa Jan. 31, 2013)("the Court need only add the value of one month's reinstatement to Salazar[`s] stipulated damages of $73,000 for the value of Salazar's claim to exceed the jurisdictional minimum of $75,000")(citing Gable v. MSC Waterworks Co., Inc., No. 12-CV-0047-CVE-PJC, 2012 WL 1118980, *4 (N.D. Okla. Apr. 3, 2012)); see also JTH Tax, Inc. v. Frashier, 624 F.3d 635, 369 (4th Cir. 2010)("Consideration of the requested injunctive relief compels the conclusion that Liberty's claim alleges a sufficient amount in controversy. Even if the $60,456.25 alleged in its summary judgment motion constitutes the sole money damages sought by Liberty, its requested injunctive relief need only have a good faith worth of $14,543.76, i.e. the amount necessary to yield a combined value in excess of $75,000."); Watts v. Bank of New York Mellon, N.A., Civil Action File No. 1:13-CV-2701-TWT, 2014 WL 695222, *2 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 21, 2014)(amount in controversy was "[t]he value of the Property," the foreclosure of which plaintiff sued to prevent, "
The Eleventh Circuit has "held that `[f]or amount in controversy purposes, the value of injunctive or declaratory relief is the value of the object of the litigation measured from the plaintiff's perspective.' Stated another way, the value of declaratory relief is `the monetary value of the benefit that would flow to the plaintiff if the [relief he is seeking] were granted.'" South Florida Wellness, Inc. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 745 F.3d 1312, 1315-16 (11th Cir. 2014)(quoting Morrison v. Allstate Indem. Co., 228 F.3d 1255, 1268 (11th Cir. 2000)). Plaintiffs allege that they have sustained "millions of dollars" of damages as a result of the wrongful conduct at issue. Although they contend that their right to injunctive relief is too speculative, "[t]he larger the calculated amount at stake, the easier it is to be confident that collection contingencies should not count for much." South Florida Wellness, 745 F.3d at 1317(holding that, in a case in which defendant calculated the value to plaintiffs of injunctive relief at $68 million dollars, "[e]ven if we speculated that 90% of that amount would be siphoned off by one contingency or another — an extraordinarily unlikely outcome — more than $6.8 million would still be at stake")(citing Morrison, 228 F.3d at 1270-71).
Plaintiffs have alleged that their damages exceed "millions of dollars," but their demand for money damages is limited to "less than $75,000." The Magistrate Judge held, "In light of plaintiffs' election to forego monetary damages in excess of $75,000, the specific dispute is whether Google has sufficiently established that
For the foregoing reasons, plaintiffs' Motion to Reconsider will be denied.
The district court reviews de novo those parts of the Report and Recommendation to which a party objects. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3)("The district judge must determine de novo any part of the magistrate judge's disposition that has been properly objected to.").
Plaintiffs have filed objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation granting defendant's Motion to Dismiss. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs' Objections are
(Doc. 28 at 7.)
"Parties filing objections to a magistrate's report and recommendation must
This objection is
The Communications Decency Act [CDA] provides, "No provider or user of an
Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, 755 F.3d 398, 408-09 (6th Cir. 2014)(footnote omitted). Pursuant to § 230(c)(1), "Google cannot be held liable for search results that yield content created by a third party." Getachew v. Google, Inc., 491 Fed. Appx. 923, 926 (10th Cir. 2012)(citing Ben Ezra, Weinstein, & Co., Inc. v. Am. Online Inc., 206 F.3d 980, 984-85 (10th Cir. 2000)).
The Magistrate Judge stated:
(Doc. 26 at 6-7 [underline emphasis in original; bold emphasis added].) Having carefully reviewed the Complaint as well as the parties' submissions, the court agrees with the Magistrate Judge and finds that plaintiffs' Complaint fails to allege that defendant Google
According to plaintiffs' Complaint the alleged disparaging content are statements found on the gripe sites, and returned in search results or advertisements, that American Income Life is a scam. (Doc. 1-1 at 9, ¶ 13.) Specifically, plaintiffs contend:
(Id.) The Letter, addressed to Google's Vice President and Chief Legal Officer and attached to plaintiff's Complaint,
(Id.) This opening salvo also states that plaintiffs "have no doubt that Google's complicity in these schemes has been unwitting (at least to the point of receipt of this letter)." (Id. at 15.) The Complaint contains no allegation that Google created any content that represented American Income Life as a scam. Although the gripe sites's content was broadcast and/or returned as a result of keyword searches of "American Income Life" on Google's website, the Complaint does not allege that Google created or otherwise developed any content stating that American Income Life is a scam.
The Magistrate Judge's Recommendation that plaintiffs' Complaint be dismissed based on Google's immunity as an internet service provider is
Plaintiffs have not specified what portions of the Report and Recommendation to which they object or exactly why they believe the Magistrate Judge erred. The court notes that the District Attorney for Jefferson County (Bessemer Division) filed an Entry of Appearance in state court, which indicated he was conducting a preliminary investigation into plaintiffs' claims. (Doc. 4-1 at 2-3.) However, the record contains no evidence of any further action by the District Attorney. The Report and Recommendation states:
(Doc. 26 at 8-9 [emphasis added].)
The Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation recommends dismissing plaintiffs' claims against defendant Google. For the reasons set forth above, the court
Plaintiffs' Objection is
The court notes, even assuming defendant was not entitled to immunity, plaintiffs' Complaint does not state a claim for relief under the ADTPA. Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges that defendant violated two provisions of the Act: Ala. Code § 8-19-5(8) and (20). These provisions make unlawful "[d]isparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representations of fact," and,
Ala. Code § 8-19-5(8) and (20). The phrase "seller-assisted marketing plan" is defined as "includ[ing] any plan, scheme, or system in which for a consideration a buyer acquires goods or services, or both, together with a plan, scheme, or system for the resale of said goods or services, or both." Pursuant to Ala. Code § 8-19-10(a), except as to subsections (19), prohibiting pyramid schemes, and (20), regarding seller-assisted marketing plans, a defendant is liable for damage to a consumer, which are defined as "[a]ny natural person who buys goods or services for personal, family or household use," Ala. Code § 8-19-3(2). For claims under subsections (19) and (20) a defendant may be liable to any person, including a corporation. Ala. Code § 8-19-10(a). However, a person injured by a pyramid scheme, § 8-19-5(19), or a misrepresentation related to a seller-assisted marketing plan, § 8-19-5(20), must be a party to the pyramid scheme or the buyer of a seller-assisted marketing plan.
Clearly, plaintiffs do not have claims under the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act against Google based on the prominent placement of the gripe sites in search results. Neither plaintiff alleges that he/it purchased goods or services for purposes of reselling those goods or services through a plan, scheme, or system provided by defendant. A "seller-assisted marketing plan" is not the sell of advertisements or activity designed to maximize the results of that advertisement — such as creating prominent placement of search results. Therefore, assuming that Google assisted the gripe sites in achieving prominent placement in its search results, such activity does not violate the "seller-assisted marketing plan" provision of the ADTPA.
Also, the Complaint contains no allegations in support of plaintiffs' claim that Sonneberg is a consumer for purposes of Ala. Code § 8-19-5(8). The Complaint alleges that Sonneberg, "the Alabama State General Agent for Plaintiff American Income Life Insurance Company," is a "consumer." (Doc. 1-1 at 6.) Under the ADTPA, a "consumer" is "[a]ny natural person who buys goods or services for personal, family or household use." Ala. Code § 8-19-3(2). The Complaint contains no allegations from which it can be inferred that Sonneberg was injured as a "consumer"; his alleged injuries appear to arise in his capacity as an agent of American Life. Nothing in the Complaint supports an inference that Sonneberg bought any goods or services from Google related to the gripe sites for his personal use, his family, or his household. Without some indication that Sonneberg is an injured
Therefore, even assuming defendant Google was not entitled to immunity under the CDA, plaintiffs' Complaint fails to state a claim for relief under the ADTPA.
For the foregoing reasons, the court is of the opinion that plaintiffs' Motion to Reconsider is due to be denied and their Objections are due to be overruled. The Magistrate Judge's Report is due to be adopted and his Recommendation will be accepted. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, (doc. 5), will be granted; and plaintiffs' Complaint will be dismissed with prejudice.