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"Boring" Lawsuit Confronts Google Street View

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Considerably funnier than it sounds

It was only a matter of time before Google got sued over Street View; the real question was which privacy group (or sympathetic person representing a privacy group) would be first to file.  And now a couple with the last name "Boring" has beaten them all to it.

Aaron and Christine Boring believe Google trespassed on their property and invaded their privacy by taking pictures of a house near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The Borings' claim may be based in fact - a legal document supplied by The Smoking Gun states that they own a 50-foot right of way, and some of the Street View photos were obviously taken from much closer spots.

Google Street View's Lawsuit
 Street View Shot Of The Borings' House

Other aspects of the lawsuit are rather comical, however.  Should you type the Borings' address (1567 Oakridge Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15237) into Google Maps, for example, you'll need to do quite a bit of scrolling before ever getting a glimpse of their house.  Then, after catching sight, you'll find it's not the sort of place you're likely to visit.

The Borings live on an admirably large lot, and own what appear to be two garages.  Unfortunately, a gravel lane is all that leads to the property, power lines aren't too far away, and the grass is in sad shape.  The pool is quite small, two window air conditioning units are visible, and a door-sized part of an exterior wall appears to be made of plywood.

Because Google snapped pics of all this, the Borings want "in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars for compensatory, incidental and consequential damages, punitive damages, costs, all allowable attorneys' fees, and all other damages deemed to be just," according to the court document.

It should be interesting to see how things turn out.  If the Borings win, Google will be put in a weak position.  But if they lose, everyone and everything hoping to file suit in the future may get placed at a similar legal disadvantage.

News Tags: Google, Legal, Street View
About the author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.

4 Comments

The Death of Us

 

Such a foolish lawsuit this is. People agreeing that this is in fact “invasion of privacy” is what’s killing this country. Liberals and liberal ideas are what make this country so soft. Why are we crying over pictures of ANY particular house? Nobody is missing the message, whiny Americans that feel so entitled to everything complaining as always. I hope the lawsuit is dismissed and this crazy couple gets a big “shut your mouth” outcome.  

You are missing the message

This family is entitled to their PRIVACY on their PERSONAL property.    If a neighbor was taking photos of your size 24 mother in her white spandex shorts gardening  from the street - you might get the point.

What's nuts is  people are more interested in discussing gravel driveways and swimming pools than the real issue here - invasion of privacy.  This must be the GOP primer board!

 

The photos were removed

Google removed the infringing photos, i've iframed the streetview here http://goodle.crmreports.com/2008/04/google-sued-over-streetview-privacy.html and if you go further a little you'll get the "photos removed" message

Roll out the Prozac

These people are nuts. Apparently they are also claiming Mental anguish... roll out the Prozac, they have hit Number 54 on Google's top 100
http://shitfourbrains.blogspot.com

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