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An American couple has won a victory, of sorts, against Internet giant Google, which they claim trespassed on their property with a Street View car.
Two and a half years following the original suit in April of 2008, the court has handed down a ‘consent judgement’ that Google was guilty of Count II Trespass with the Boring husband and wife being awarded the princely damages of $1.
Tech Crunch reported that the Borings had in fact attempted an appeal to the US Supreme Court but this was subsequently denied. Google had always argued that Boring lawsuit was pointless since anyone could request the firm removes Street View imagery.
“Google could have just sent us an apology letter in the very beginning, but chose to try to prove they had a legal right to be on our land. We are glad they finally gave up,” said the Borings in a statement issued by their legal representative Gregg Zegarelli.
However the Boring action had initially demanded damages of $25,000 to compensate for ‘mental suffering’ and the diminished value of their home. In proceedings it had come to light that the Boring home had in fact been photographed and placed on a real estate site online.
“We are pleased that this lawsuit has finally ended with plaintiffs’ acknowledgment that they are entitled to only $1,” Google said in a statement.
It’s not clear what Mr and Mrs Boring will do with their hard won spoils.
