Tasini v. AOL, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
851 F. Supp. 2d 734 (2012)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
In 2011 AOL, Inc. (defendant) bought The Huffington Post (defendant), including its website, for approximately $315 million. The for-profit website included content from unpaid bloggers, including Jonathan Tasini (plaintiff). The website informed unpaid content providers that they would not be paid for their services. However, such content providers gained national exposure from being on the website, and they were encouraged to promote their content via their own social media. Tasini contributed to the website 216 times over a period of approximately five years. Tasini sued AOL, arguing that the website’s purchase price was as high as it was due to the content submitted by Tasini and other unpaid writers. Tasini sought compensation based on the common-law theory of unjust enrichment. AOL filed a motion to dismiss.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Koeltl, J.)
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