Dolin v. Facebook, Inc.

289 F. Supp. 3d 1153
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedFebruary 6, 2018
DocketCiv. No. 17–00515 JMS–RLP
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 289 F. Supp. 3d 1153 (Dolin v. Facebook, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dolin v. Facebook, Inc., 289 F. Supp. 3d 1153 (D. Haw. 2018).

Opinion

J. Michael Seabright, Chief United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Before the court is Defendant Facebook, Inc.'s ("Facebook" or "Defendant") "Motion to Transfer Venue Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) and/or Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6)." ECF No. 9. For the reasons discussed below, the Motion is GRANTED, and the Clerk of Court is directed to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The Third Amended Complaint ("TAC"), alleges the following. Pro se Plaintiff Mark D. Dolin ("Plaintiff") registered the domain name "www.shopfacebook.com" on April 12, 2015, and then created thousands of unique "Pages" on Facebook that he incorporated into his development of a larger shopping platform. TAC ¶¶ 1, 9, 16, 18, ECF No. 1-2. Beginning on August 7, 2015, Defendant "encouraged Plaintiff's *1156work" through phone conversations and email communications and confirmed that Plaintiff's shopping platform complied with Facebook policies. Id. ¶¶ 9-10, 17, 21. Since May 29, 2015, Defendant has received profits of $2,097.04 from Plaintiff's shopping platform. Id. ¶ 11.

On October 3, 2016, Defendant released its own shopping platform titled "Marketplace." Id. ¶ 12. And on November 2, 2016, Defendant released "Instagram Shopping." Id. ¶ 13. Prior to Defendant's release of these products, Defendant never objected to Plaintiff's use of the "www.shopfacebook.com" domain name. Id. ¶¶ 12-13, 21.

In November and December 2016, Plaintiff received letters from Defendant threatening a lawsuit if Plaintiff did not "cease and decist" (sic) from using the "www.shopfacebook.com" domain. Id. ¶¶ 2, 4. Plaintiff attempted to contact Defendant repeatedly in order to resolve this issue, but Defendant failed to respond. Id. ¶¶ 3, 5-7. As of November 3, 2016, Defendant withdrew "tech support" for all of Plaintiff's "Pages" and began "altering the layout design by removing all pictures," thereby "making Plaintiff's shopping platform less desirable, less appealing and harder to navigate." Id. ¶¶ 15-16.

Plaintiff's plan for his shopping platform and specific information about how it would work were "detailed in his application for patent" and in emails Plaintiff sent to Facebook officials prior to the release of Facebook's Marketplace and Instagram Shopping platforms. Id. ¶ 32. Plaintiff's ideas were allegedly incorporated in both of Facebook's shopping platforms. Id. Thus, the TAC alleges that Facebook "used ... Plaintiff as beta testing to benefit [its] own product releases." Id. ¶ 29; accord id. ¶ 34. The TAC asserts claims for "negligent interference," fraud, and "tortious interference," and seeks damages of $10 billion. Id. at 13-14.

Defendant now moves to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California based on a forum-selection clause. As set forth in Defendant's Memorandum in Support of its Motion, from April 2015 to the present, users creating a "Page" on Facebook's website or mobile application were presented with a message stating "By clicking Get Started, you agree to the Facebook Pages Terms." Def.'s Mem. at 5-6, ECF No. 9-1; Decl. of Michael Duffey ¶¶ 3-5, ECF No. 9-2; Def.'s Exs. A, B, ECF Nos. 9-3, 9-4. In order to create a "Page," a user was required to click the "Get Started" button. Duffey Decl. ¶ 5. "On both platforms, the phrase 'Facebook Pages Terms' was highlighted and hyperlinked to a webpage that posted the Pages Terms in their entirety." Id. ¶ 6.

The Facebook Pages Terms in effect from April 2015 through the present incorporate Facebook's general terms of use, known as the "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" ("SRR"). Def.'s Mem. at 7; Duffey Decl. ¶ 7, Def.'s Exs. C-F, ECF Nos. 9-4 to 9-8.

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Bluebook (online)
289 F. Supp. 3d 1153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dolin-v-facebook-inc-hid-2018.