On December 30, 2009, the 9th Circuit (US District Court – Northern California) issued an opinion in the case of Birdsong, Waggoner, et. Al. v. Apple, Inc., No. 08-16641 (DC No. 5:06-CV-02280-JW) finding that even though the iPod’s ear buds can project sounds into the ears of up to 115 decibels, the plaintiffs in this case were not in fact injured (i.e., did not suffer hearing loss themselves) and thus did not have standing to sue. In addition, the court noted that the iPods did not cause hearing loss while using ear buds unless the volume was turned up significantly. Because the iPods could be used without turning the volume up (an obviously unsafe use), the decision to dismiss the class action suit was upheld. Although the plaintiffs claim that they were seeking to have Apple adopt safer features, the court was correct in indicating that filing a class action suit was not the best way to go about this. Perhaps the Plaintiffs could learn something from Jeff Jarvis who posted his issues with Dell in 2005 on his blog buzzmachine.com. Apparently, this tactic worked. Dell responded with its own direct2dell.com blog and worked to resolve its customer service issues. What we are seeing, and which should really be acknowledged for its power, is that blogging CAN be used successfully to resolve issues that a mere decade ago could only garner national attention by going to court. A blog with a wide readership has enormous potential to affect positive corporate and societal change. I believe this trend with be proven out in the years to come. Not only is blogging a faster way to reach your target audience, it is much cheaper than going to court.
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In the eyes of the law 
[…] Is blogging better than going to court? « Kimberly Houser’s Blog In Uncategorized on January 3, 2010 at 12:40 pm Is blogging better than going to court? « Kimberly Houser’s Blog. […]
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by jeffjarvis: Is blogging a dispute better than suing over it? http://bit.ly/5KsjSw…
Kimberly, you’ve asked perhaps the single most important question in business!
Irrespective of what forum you choose, (i.e. . . . social networks and blogs today, and who-knows-what tomorrow), the issue of how and where to apply pressure to people/companies you are having trouble with is the single best determiner of your business success when things go . . . wrong.
I’m always amused when the phrase “we don’t comment on pending matters/litigation/whatever” comes out of the mouth of a talking head. REALLY? Why don’t you?
A little public pressure is and has always been the best way to get someone’s attention. Nice piece!
Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP on Twitter
[…] am Tags: Litigation, Technology Here’s some more information on the iPod lawsuit from the “In the eyes of the law” blog by attorney Kimberly Houser. The question phrased by Ms. Houser is whether “blogging is […]
The choice that the plaintiffs, who were unhappy with the volume control on the iPod, made was to file a class action suit. I think this was an extreme response to something that could be considered more of a corporate policy or customer service issue than a legal issue. I certainly would not suggest to my clients that they blog negatively whenever they had a dispute with someone, but rather in cases where a public push could help with changing a corporate policy or customer service issue, blogging may be an effective way to accomplish this. You are right on the money about keeping clients out of court when they desire to maintain a relationship with the offending party.
Great blog, Kim, without it, I would not know about the many cases out there. Your post affirms the “reachability” & positive influence a blog can have in society today.