Finkel v. Facebook, No. 102578-2009 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed Feb. 16, 2009).
Status: Claims against Facebook dismissed (Sept. 15, 2009); claims against other defendants pending

Recent high school graduate Denise Finkel sued several classmates and their parents over postings to a private Facebook group, "90 Cents Short of a Dollar."  Finkel also sued Facebook, claiming that its asserted ownership of material posted to its site in the site's terms of use made it publisher of the material that was not immune from liability under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

On Sept. 15, 2009, New York Supreme Court Justice Debra James dismissed the claims against Facebook, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that section 230 did not apply.

Links and Court Documents:
Finkel v. Facebook (Citizen Media Law Project)
Finkel v. Facebook: Court Rejects Defamation Claim Against Facebook Premised on "Ownership" of User Content (Citizen Media Law Project blog, Oct. 21, 2009)
Oceanside teen sues Facebook, ex-classmates for $3M (Newsday, March 2, 2009)

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