Utah man sues Sprint over spam

Computerworld - Telecommunications provider Sprint Corp. is embroiled in a legal battle over unsolicited e-mail allegedly sent out by the company in Utah, where state law prohibits spam.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of resident Terry Gillman of Murray, Utah, charges Sprint with issuing unsolicited commercial e-mail without permission of the recipients and without an ongoing business relationship.
Utah's "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail Act," which bans businesses from sending unsolicited e-mail, known as spam, went into effect May 6. The law says that commercial e-mail may be sent legally as an advertisement if it includes the characters "ADV:" at the beginning of the subject line in the e-mail. With such labeling in the subject line, a recipient can choose not to view the message on its face or can set up e-mail filtering software to automatically delete such messages.
Despite the new law, according to the plaintiff, Sprint sent out the messages, which included offers for Sprint telephone service. The offer cited in the case, made within days of the law going into effect, was for a free combination camera/Web cam/voice recorder device that was offered as a gift to customers who sign up for the "Sprint Nickel Nights Online" telephone service. The message didn't include "ADV:" in the subject line, according to the plaintiff.
Sprint spokesman Travis Sowders said the company wouldn't comment on pending litigation. However, in a written legal response to the plaintiff, Sprint attorneys called Utah's law "void on its face" because it violates the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech, due process and free commerce. Sprint's statement denies that unauthorized e-mails were sent and said that any unsolicited e-mails that were allegedly received were "transmitted accidentally and/or after implementation of reasonable measures" to prevent them.
Under Utah's new law, violations are punishable by fines of $10 per illegal commercial e-mail sent, up to a maximum of $25,000 per day that the violations occur. The fines or actual damages are awarded to the plaintiffs, under the law.
The suit has been filed as a class-action lawsuit to bring in other affected plaintiffs.
Denver Snuffer, an attorney representing Gillman, said the suit was filed because unsolicited e-mails are an unfair burden on his client's time.
Gillman, who is in his mid-20s, works for a collection agency but doesn't own a computer. He has access to e-mail at work, in libraries and in coffee shops, Snuffer said. The problem is that such access is often with strict time limits, which is then wasted poring through unsolicited commercial e-mails.
Snuffer said Gillman