Legal News

?Boring? Couple Files Interesting Lawsuit Against Google

By Dan Slater

The Law Blog had never heard of Google Street Views until we came across this Smoking Gun story about Aaron and Christine Boring. To be honest, we’re a bit unhappy with Google “Street Views” because we can’t seem to find our home using the program. The Borings are unhappy because they can.

The Borings, a Pittsburgh couple, are suing Google for “intentional and/or grossly reckless invasion” of privacy because Google’s “Street View” feature has made their home viewable on the Internet.

According to the suit, filed this week in Allegheny County’s Court of Common Pleas and viewable on the Smoking Gun, the Borings bought their house (complete with two garages and a swimming pool) in 2006 “for a considerable sum of money” ($163,000, reports the Smoking Gun). The Borings note that a “major component of their purchase decision was a desire for privacy,” demonstrated by a sign on their street that reads ‘Private Road.’” But when Pittsburgh was added to the cities covered by Google’s “Street View” feature, the Borings allege, their “private information” became known “to the public at large with the commensurate risks that this entails,” causing them “mental suffering” and diminishing the value of their home. The Borings request $25,000 in damages.

According to the Smoking Gun, the Boring property (pictured) is now even easier to locate via Google Maps because the Borings included their home address on the lawsuit’s first page.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 31, 1969 (boomark / email).