plead a forced “sale” whereby they gave their trackable
internet history information in exchange for advertisements
delivered to their browsers (i.e., the “services”). The plaintiffs
present no caselaw in support of their expansive construction
of “sale.” And California federal courts have expressly
rejected defining “sale” as to include “transactions” based on
non-tangible forms of payment, including internet usage
information specifically.142 Likewise, Black’s Law Dictionary
defines a sale as a “transfer or property or title for a price,”
requiring specifically “a price in money paid or promised.”143
We follow the view of the California federal courts, and see
no “sale . . . of services” in the allegations of the complaint.
The dismissal of this claim was thus proper, too.
V.
Conclusion
In light of the foregoing, we will dispose of the
plaintiffs’ claims in the following manner.
We will affirm the dismissal of the three federal law
claims brought against all defendants. Because the defendants
were parties to all electronic transmissions at issue in this
142
See Claridge v. RockYou, Inc., 785 F. Supp. 2d 855, 864
(N.D. Cal. 2011) (rejecting plaintiff’s contention that “his
transfer of . . . information to defendant in exchange for free
applications[] constitutes a ‘purchase’ or ‘lease’” as finding
“no support under the specific statutory language of the
[Act]”); Yunker v. Pandora Media, Inc., 2013 WL 1282980,
at *12 (N.D. Cal. 2013) (same).
143
Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014) (“Sale”).
59
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