S. Louis Martin v. Google, Inc.
Case Law- Country
- Country Location
Latitude: 39.778231903243785
Longitude: -100.8801256788983
- Country Location (linked Case Law)
- United States
- Decision Date
- Nov 13, 2014
- Case Status
- Closed
- Case Outcome (Procedural)
- Dismissed
- Case Outcome (Disposition)
- Judgment in Favor of Defendant/ Acquittal
- Law or Action Upheld
- Keywords
- Defamation
- Freedom of Expression
- Judicial Body
- First Instance Court
- Case Number
- CGC-14-539972
- Case Summary
A Judge agreed with Google that “search results [are] protected by the First Amendment and [cannot] be penalized” in spite of claims that Google “monopolizes the search-engine business, [causing] grievous harm to CoastNews.com,” a San Francisco-based web publication. US News reported that on November 13, 2014 in the case of S. Louis Martin v. Google, Inc., that Judge Ernest J. Goldsmith (San Francisco Superior Court in California) granted Google’s Special Motion to Strike the lawsuit. US News also offered these comments regarding Google’s challenges in the EU:
"The problem faced by Google is that the First Amendment does not exist in European nations. Goldsmith’s decision shows the stark contrast between legal views of Google and search engines like Yahoo in not just the European Union but other nations like Japan and Australia where the tech company has lost cases that determined its search results were defamatory or violated privacy rights."
- Case Significance
The decision does not establish a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.
- Source URL
- Columbia Global Freedom of Expression