Google Street View lawsuit allowed to continue but Google shouldn’t be worried

The lawsuit filed against Google by a Pennsylvania couple was reinstated by an appeals court, but their demands for $25,000 in damages plus punitive damages are unlikely to be heard and their claims of mental anguish and invasion of privacy were thrown out.

Aaron and Christine Boring sued Google after discovering their home had been photographed by a Google Street View vehicle. The couple said it was trespassing because their home is on a private street and claimed they had suffered “mental suffering” and decreased property values as a result. They demanded the photos be removed and destroyed and asked for “at least” $25,000 in damages.

The court’s decision allows the Borings to sue for trespass but places the burden on them to prove they suffered damages and allows them to collect a whopping $1 if they succeed:

“Pennsylvania law provides that when a plaintiff proves a violation of a legally protected interest but fails to prove that any injury or damage resulted only nominal damages may be recovered. We find that plaintiffs would be entitled to recover, at most, the sum of $1 against the individual defendants.”

The couple’s lawyer responded with a rather melodramatic brief:

“This court’s ruling makes our private property a Google Slave; our property is no longer our own: it is forced to work for another, against its will, without compensation, for the profit of another. The federal court should free slavery, not create it.”

Neither the lawyers nor the couple appeared to have any comment on the fact the county website also has photos of their home, along with its value, how much they paid for it, and the lot size.

Google has little to worry about. They provide clear directions for anyone wishing to remove their property from Google Street view, and but since this couple choose to ignore them and file a lawsuit instead shows they are most likely after a big payday more than anything else.

Read [CNet]