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Can we use Small Claims to fight other injustices? How about going after companies that sell your email address?

Edit: for the downvoters: it is a genuine question.



From what I understood, small claims court are limited to monetary damages only. I.e. if you can not clearly show what monetary damage you suffered, there is no small claim case.


> companies that sell your email address

What monetary damages can you prove you suffered?


Not monetary per se, but how about time wasted due to the spam? What if I control my own domain, and have to spend time fighting this spam?


We're talking about civil court here. Money is what you go to court to get. What do you want the judge to do if you win? He's handling traffic tickets and landlord disputes... then he gets to you. He's not going to try to make up some equation of how much your time pressing the delete button on your e-mail client is worth.


Depends where you are. Here in Ontario small claims court doesn't handle traffic tickets or landlord disputes. They handle things like suing your mechanic, or a business owner suing a deadbeat.

However, they still don't have the time to process your claim for damages awarded for loss of time due to junk email. Sorry, but I can't sue for the actual junk mail I get that actually causes physical expenses like garbage disposal/recycling plus time. However a judge is going to be royally pissed if I'm suing for the disposal costs of junk mail (probably a maximum of $5 a year at the dump)


Seen any of Bennett Haselton's stories on slashdot?




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