Google Loses Street View Trespass Case, Pays (Very) Small Settlement

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Google Street View may not cause mental anguish, but it could be considered trespassing. At least, that’s the lesson to learn from the experience of Pittsburgh couple Aaron and Christine Boring, who have successfully sued Google for trespassing after they found pictures of their house on the service despite living on a private road.

The couple had initially claimed that Google’s actions not only diminished the value of their home, but also caused them “mental suffering” way back in 2008, only for their initial complaints to be thrown out of court (The Borings appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, but without success); instead, they had to move forward with a lesser charge of trespassing, and won, with the court awarding them damages of… $1, a figure a long way from what they were seeking in their original lawsuit, upwards of $25,000.

The dollar settlement was a Consent Judgment, meaning that both sides agreed to the figure, allowing Google to issue an enjoyably snide statement about the whole matter:

We are pleased that this lawsuit has finally ended with plaintiffs’ acknowledgment that they are entitled to only $1.

I wonder if that sort of comment could be considered to cause mental suffering…?

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