San Francisco attorney awarded thousands in spam suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco attorney has been awarded $7,000 in damages for e-mail spam sent to his inbox.

A San Mateo County Superior Court judge ruled last week the seven e-mails Daniel Balsam received from Redwood City-based Trancos Inc. in 2007 were misleading and violated California’s 2004 anti-spam law. Trancos is an Internet advertising business.

The law prohibits sending an unsolicited commercial e-mail that misrepresents the source or subject.

Trancos’s attorney, Robert Nelson, said only someone who suffers losses as a result of the e-mail message can sue under the state’s anti-spam law.

He says Trancos will appeal the ruling.

Lawyers on both sides of Balsam’s case said it appeared to be among the first lawsuits by a consumer under the state’s anti-spam law to be tried outside small claims court.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle