A flurry of class actions in the "your friend would like to reunite with you" space.  On the heels of news of the Reunion.com class action, today brings news that a class action complaint was filed against Classmates / United Online, in LA County Superior Court.  (Ars Technica; Wired's Threat Level; Complaint [pdf].)

The crux of the complaint is that Classmates allegedly misled members into signing up for premium memberships using misleading emails . . . the same emails that virtually all of us receive and promptly delete.  (Except for those people that signed up for the premium membership believing that their friends were actually looking for them on Classmates.)

Some key differences between this lawsuit and the Reunion.com lawsuit - the class here is proceeding on state law grounds, most likely avoiding the thorny preemption issues faced by the Reunion.com plaintiffs.  Better yet, the class asserts claims under California's unfair business practices statute (affectionately known as "section 17200"). 

On their misrepresentation claims, plaintiffs will have to overcome the (potentially difficult) hurdle of showing that there are people out there who actually bought into the "your friends are looking for you" line.  But I don't think (although I'm not sure) that plaintiffs face any such issues on their 17200 claim.  Although 17200 has been limited in recent years by California courts, it's still a powerful weapon in the plaintiff's arsenal.  (See generally, The UCL Practitioner.)  Remedies are limited to restitution and injunctive relief.  Still, plaintiffs can point to virtually anything to support their claim that the practices at issue were "unfair" under 17200, sometimes even foreign statutes and rules.

It's difficult to predict how this lawsuit will play out.  It doesn't seem like there's a forward-to-a-friend element here.  Curious to see whether Classmates will remove . . . my guess is that they will (assuming there is a valid basis for removal).  Plaintiffs will probably dig into the details behind Classmates' email campaigns.

Are these lawsuits challenging practices at the fringes, or will they force all companies to re-examine their emailing practices? Time will tell.