Feldman v. Google, Inc.

• Citation: 513 F.Supp.2d 229
• Decision Date: 29 March 2007
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 06-2540.
• Parties: Lawrence FELDMAN, Plaintiff, v. GOOGLE, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

513 F.Supp.2d 229

Lawrence FELDMAN, Plaintiff, v. GOOGLE, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 06-2540.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

March 29, 2007.

Lawrence E. Feldman, Lawrence E. Feldman & Associates, Roseann E. Weisblatt, Elkins Park, PA, William E. Angle, Lawrence E. Feldman & Associates, Jenkintown, PA, for Plaintiff.

David J. Berney, Law Offices of David J. Berney, Jeffrey M. Lindy, Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Lindy, Philadelphia, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

GILES, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Before the court is Defendant Google, Inc.'s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, or in the alternative, to Transfer, which motion the court converted to a Motion for Summary Judgment. Also before the court is Plaintiff Lawrence E. Feldman's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. The ultimate issues raised by the motions and determined by the court are whether a forum selection clause in an internet "clickwrap" agreement is enforceable under the facts of the case and, if so, whether transfer of this case to the Northern District of California is warranted. The court finds in the affirmative as to both, issues and, therefore, denies Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, grants Defendant's Motion to Transfer, and transfers this case to the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. The reasons follow.

Defendant's motion seeks to enforce the forum selection clause in an online "clickwrap" agreement, which provides for venue in Santa Clara County, California, which is within the San Jose Division. In his original complaint, Plaintiff based his claims on a theory of express contract. In his Amended Complaint, however, Plaintiff offers a wholly new legal theory. He argues that no express contract existed because the agreement was not valid. Withdrawing his express contract allegations, Plaintiff advanced the theory of implied contract because he argues he did not have notice of and did not assent to the terms of the agreement and therefore there was no "meeting of the minds." Plaintiff also argues that, even if the agreement were controlling, it is a contract of adhesion and unconscionable, and that the forum selection clause is unenforceable.

The court will address these arguments in turn. First, the court will examine what law governs this action, Pennsylvania or California law, state or federal law. Turning to the question of whether the forum selection clause is enforceable, the court will determine whether an express or implied contract exists and whether there was reasonable notice of the contract's terms. The court next will examine whether the contract and its terms are unconscionable.

If the forum selection clause is enforceable, the court will address whether dismissal or transfer is the appropriate remedy, and, if transfer is appropriate, whether 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) or 28 U.S.C. § 1406 applies. If § 1404(a) controls, the court will determine whether the language of the forum selection clause is permissive or mandatory in order to ascertain what weight to give it. Then, the court will examine the validity or reasonableness of the forum selection clause through application of the test in M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1, 12-13, 92 S.Ct. 1907, 32 L.Ed.2d 513 (1972). Finally, the court will weigh the private and public factors under § 1404(a) to determine whether transfer is warranted.

II. Factual Background

A. General Background

On or about January 2003, Plaintiff, a lawyer with his own law firm, Lawrence E. Feldman & Associates, purchased advertising from Defendant Google, Inc.'s "Ad-Words" Program, to attract potential clients who may have been harmed by drugs under scrutiny by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In the AdWords program, whenever an internet user searched on the internet search engine, Google.com, for keywords or "Adwords" purchased by Plaintiff, such as "Vioxx," "Bextra," and "Celebrex," Plaintiff's ad would appear. If the searcher clicked on Plaintiff's ad, Defendant would charge Plaintiff for each click made on the ad.

This procedure is known as "pay per click" advertising. The price per keyword is determined by a bidding process, wherein the highest bidder for a keyword would have its ad placed at the top of the list of results from a Google.com search by an internet user.

Plaintiff claims that he was the victim of "click fraud." Click fraud occurs when entities or persons, such as competitors or pranksters, without any interest in Plaintiff's services, click repeatedly on Plaintiff's ad, the result of which drives up his advertising cost and discourages him from advertising. Click fraud also may be referred to as "improper clicks" or, to coin a phrase, "trick clicks." Plaintiff alleges that twenty to thirty percent of all clicks for which he was charged were fraudulent. He claims that Google required him to pay for all clicks on his ads, including those which were fraudulent.

Plaintiff does not contend that Google actually knew that there were fraudulent clicks, but alleges that click fraud can be tracked and prevented by computer programs, which can count the number of clicks originating from a single source and whether a sale results, and can be tracked by mechanisms on websites. Plaintiff alleges, therefore, that Google had the capacity to determine which clicks were fraudulent, but did nothing to prevent the click fraud, and did not adequately warn him about click fraud or investigate his complaints about click fraud. Plaintiff alleges that Google informed him that it did not keep records on an advertiser's account and click history for more than the most recent three months, and that Google disclaimed liability for clicks older than sixty days.

The issue of click fraud with respect to the AdWords program led to a class action suit in Arkansas, which was settled and court approval was given on or about July 26, 2006. (Pl. Opp. to Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. A.) Plaintiff alleges that he was a member of that class but timely opted out in order to pursue an individual action.

Plaintiff alleges Google charged him over $100,000 for AdWords from about January 2003 to December 31, 2005. Plaintiff seeks damages, disgorgement of any profits Defendant obtained as a result of any unlawful conduct, and restitution of money Plaintiff paid for fraudulent clicks.

B. The Online Agreement and Forum Selection Clause

This cross-summary judgment battle turns entirely on a forum selection clause in the AdWords online agreement. It is undisputed that the forum selection clause provides: "The Agreement must be construed as if both parties jointly wrote it, governed by California law except for its conflicts of laws principles and adjudicated in Santa Clara County, California." (Def. Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. A, at ¶ 7 (emphasis added).)

Annie Hsu, an AdWords Associate for Google, Inc., testified by affidavit that the following procedures were in place at the time that Plaintiff activated his AdWords account in about January 2003. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 7). Although. Plaintiff claims that the AdWords Agreement "was neither signed nor seen and negotiated by Feldman & Associates or anyone at his firm" (Pl. Opp. to Mot. to Dismiss at 2) and that he never "personally signed a contract with Google to litigate disputes in Santa Clara County, California" (Pl. Reply at 1), Plaintiff does not dispute that he followed the process outlined by Hsu.

It is undisputed that advertisers, including Plaintiff, were required to enter into an AdWords contract before placing any ads or incurring any charges. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 2.) To open an AdWords account, an advertiser had to have gone through a series of steps in an online sign-up process. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 3.) To activate the AdWords account, the advertiser had to have visited his account page, where he was shown the AdWords contract. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 4.)

Toward the top of the page displaying the AdWords contract, a notice in bold print appeared and stated, "Carefully read the following terms and conditions. If you agree with these terms, indicate your assent below." (Hsu Decl. ¶ 4.) The terms and conditions were offered in a window, with a scroll bar that allowed the advertiser to scroll down and read the entire contract. The contract itself included the pre-amble and seven paragraphs, in twelve-point font. The contract's pre-amble, the first paragraph, and part of the second paragraph were clearly visible before scrolling down to read the rest of the contract. The preamble, visible at first impression, stated that consent to the terms listed in the Agreement constituted a binding agreement with Google. A link to a printer-friendly version of the contract was offered at the top of the contract window for the advertiser who would rather read the contract printed on paper or view it on a full-screen instead of scrolling down the window. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 5.)

At the bottom of the webpage, viewable without scrolling down, was a box and the words, "Yes, I agree to the above terms and conditions:" (Hsu Decl. ¶ 4.) The advertiser had to have clicked on this box in order to proceed to the next step. (Hsu Decl. ¶ 6.) If the advertiser did not click on "Yes, I agree ..." and instead tried to click the "Continue" button at the bottom of the webpage, the advertiser would have been returned to the same page and could not advance to the next step. If the advertiser did not agree to the AdWords contract, he could not activate his account, place any ads, or incur any charges. Plaintiff had an account activated. He placed ads and charges were incurred.

III. Procedural History

This matter commenced by writ of summons in the Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia County on March 9, 2006. Plaintiff filed his original Complaint on June 5, 2006. The matter was removed to federal district court on June 14, 2006 pursuant to diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. On July 10, 2006, Defendant filed its first Motion to Dismiss the original complaint.

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