SHOULD I BE SCARED??? Google & civil subpoena
- Thread starter karukera
- Start date
Well as I said I don't do any shady stuff and my whois is not protected. I try to keep everything very transparent now and yeah I don't understand why they didn't go straight to my hosting...mmm weird.
tonlilaz
Elite Member
- Feb 28, 2008
- 1,520
- 1,732
The email is so cryptic. A few things to NOTE:
1. if you were doing anything illegal, they would have banned you first:
2. It is related to your adwords account, not webpage
3. You don't know if the ag is requesting just your info or the general info of others in your area
Either way, tell G no....
Posted via Mobile Device
1. if you were doing anything illegal, they would have banned you first:
2. It is related to your adwords account, not webpage
3. You don't know if the ag is requesting just your info or the general info of others in your area
Either way, tell G no....
Posted via Mobile Device
1. true.
2. true again. Maybe some keywords I'm using, or non-compliant ad copies due to copyright infringements mmm. Again very unlikely, ads and keywords are pretty straighforward.
3. very good point. Actually I'm pretty sure it's not just me as my name does not appear in the case title (I checked several cases with the same message template online and the name of the company always appears when it's directly targeted.)
My niche is the financial one (debt, loans, credit cards, etc.) so it's possible that it has something to do with the FTC applying pressure somewhere. But apparently my landing page is not targeted because if it was, my web host and Google would have shut me down long time ago. mmm...
richcamp
Regular Member
- Oct 5, 2009
- 315
- 119
Can you google the case number and see whats come up? maybe your data is required in some litigation case. So it not about you, but your data combine with maybe hundreds of others will decide if someone is telling the truth or not
bmac
BANNED
- Dec 26, 2006
- 411
- 166
Are you sure that is a legit email. In almost every state in the US it is not legal to send legal related information via email due to security issues and I can not see googles legal team sending you an email about this. You would have also needed to been served paperwork from the courts as well so I would do some more digging.
fun4uoc
Supreme Member
- Dec 25, 2007
- 1,205
- 1,049
lincolnave
Regular Member
- Dec 5, 2008
- 389
- 186
I stand corrected.
Well it is a "civil subpoena" ... so basically somebody is suing you for cash. Google is the middleman and being requested to hand over information. I am no lawyer and as previously stated you should get one, but it seems reasonable to me to ask Google for a copy of that subpoena so you know what your up against. Is it possible one of your financial sites offered a "too good to be true" claim, someone fell for it, and now is pissed and looking for restitution?
beaglejuice
Power Member
- Mar 12, 2009
- 744
- 487
Without any particular details coming from you, I can only surmise that this could be a class action lawsuit. I suggest that you go back to the TOS of the companies you're affiliated with and check your liabilities. Remember, it's the attorney general of Florida that subpoena google.
Possible, but in that case I would suppose that they would hold the advertiser responsible...and not me the affiliate. But I could be wrong.
Yeah... I just meant if you're sending traffic to your own domain with a presell or something, or doing an email campaign, where you may have exaggerated the truth... otherwise if you're direct linking to the product page then I agree with beaglejuice that this is probably a class action.
I would check if any of the products you have promoted (companies) on your site, or are an affiliate for, have gotten busted for doing illegal shenanigans. Or at the least, have had issues with the FTC. High odds they are going after one of them and since you are advertising and sending traffic through to them, you are pulled into the mix. They want your adwords details to see if you were exclusive to them or you were blanket marketing tons of stuff for tons of sites. That is my guess.
tonlilaz
Elite Member
- Feb 28, 2008
- 1,520
- 1,732
seriously, there is only so much we can say.....we only know a small fraction of the situation, your not divulging any other additional info, so unless there's nothing more you're willing to share, all we can give you is speculation and advice that may or may not help.
you made some cash, now go use it to get some legal advice. looking for legal help or advice here is not what you want to be doing.
you made some cash, now go use it to get some legal advice. looking for legal help or advice here is not what you want to be doing.
Probably they are being sued for something to do with adwords ads.
That you happen to run probably in regards to someone paying for ads that they do not think they should have paid for or something similar.
They probably want to see your adwords account to verify that ads were run or not run what amount was paid or unpaid etc.
This is just my opinion but in that case I would say no and look up the case number and see if you should be worried or it is a lawsuit that has nothing to do directly with you.
Do not obtain a lawyer until you need to or you may possibly pay for a lawyer for no reason.
That you happen to run probably in regards to someone paying for ads that they do not think they should have paid for or something similar.
They probably want to see your adwords account to verify that ads were run or not run what amount was paid or unpaid etc.
This is just my opinion but in that case I would say no and look up the case number and see if you should be worried or it is a lawsuit that has nothing to do directly with you.
Do not obtain a lawyer until you need to or you may possibly pay for a lawyer for no reason.
bobbys
Regular Member
- Oct 29, 2008
- 369
- 414
From the dictionary:
A motion to quash is often used for suppressing service of a summons/complaint or warrant or other legal
proceedings (discovery of evidence) due to such things as lack of jurisdiction, wrong identification of a
person, unlawful basis, keeping confidential files secret, etc.
---
Companies file a lot of frivelous subpoenas, especially ones with money to pay lawyers to fill out paperwork
that doesn't really explain anything or contain relevant information or show just cause. They rely on the
majority of people to shit themselves and plead for mercy, because thats the easiest thing to do.
All they have to do to file a subpoena is to fill out the paperwork. If you file a motion to quash you are
basically saying "you have no right to this information unless you can prove it first" which puts the burden
of proof back on them. They will then have to convince a judge.
Depending on how badly you pissed someone off, they may or may not go this extra step and in fact maybe
cannot produce any evidence even if they wanted to. It depends on what exactly you are doing. But
whatever you do don't take anyone's legal advice on here as 100% gospel including what I just wrote, go
pay a cheap lawyer a few bucks to file the motion to quash and make them go work to get your personal
info (most will just give up)
A motion to quash is often used for suppressing service of a summons/complaint or warrant or other legal
proceedings (discovery of evidence) due to such things as lack of jurisdiction, wrong identification of a
person, unlawful basis, keeping confidential files secret, etc.
---
Companies file a lot of frivelous subpoenas, especially ones with money to pay lawyers to fill out paperwork
that doesn't really explain anything or contain relevant information or show just cause. They rely on the
majority of people to shit themselves and plead for mercy, because thats the easiest thing to do.
All they have to do to file a subpoena is to fill out the paperwork. If you file a motion to quash you are
basically saying "you have no right to this information unless you can prove it first" which puts the burden
of proof back on them. They will then have to convince a judge.
Depending on how badly you pissed someone off, they may or may not go this extra step and in fact maybe
cannot produce any evidence even if they wanted to. It depends on what exactly you are doing. But
whatever you do don't take anyone's legal advice on here as 100% gospel including what I just wrote, go
pay a cheap lawyer a few bucks to file the motion to quash and make them go work to get your personal
info (most will just give up)
Thank you so much guys!!! Regardless of what some of you may think, I've learned a lot reading your comments and answers. Actually, the one closest to the truth might be j0b0123:
I've done some extensive research and there is actually two types of subpoenas: those that seek discovery of information to support a claim against someone else, and those that seek discovery of information with the hopes of building a case against your company. The challenge, of course, is figuring out the motivation of the issuing party. This is hard to do but my best bet would be to contact that "issuing party" and ask them upfront. Or, as suggested by bobbys (thanks for your input it was really insightful too) I might just file a motion to quash and tell them to piss off.
Anyway, I will keep you updated....
I've done some extensive research and there is actually two types of subpoenas: those that seek discovery of information to support a claim against someone else, and those that seek discovery of information with the hopes of building a case against your company. The challenge, of course, is figuring out the motivation of the issuing party. This is hard to do but my best bet would be to contact that "issuing party" and ask them upfront. Or, as suggested by bobbys (thanks for your input it was really insightful too) I might just file a motion to quash and tell them to piss off.
Anyway, I will keep you updated....