The ruling, which can be seen heres, came as Google agreed to a consent judgment with the couple, Aaron and Christine Boring. It was signed off by Judge Cathy Bissom this past week and awarded the couple one dollar. The couple's attorney, Gregg Zegarelli, said his clients feel vindicated and hope this win will result in more private citizens coming forward with their own demands of taking photos of their homes, lawns and in some instances, family members, off the internet giant's map service. He says his clients were never interested in monetary gain.
The crux of the case revolved around a ''private road'' sign the plaintiffs said the driver ignored. And it's what resulted in their win, albeit a small one.
The suit accused Google of ''intentional and/or grossly reckless invasion of privacy''. Google fought the case and actually managed to get most of the claims in the lawsuit dismissed. All that was left to challenge was the trespassing charges. The photos in question have been down since the suit was filed in 2008.
As with all things related to Google, the public is split. One observer said, ''It's a good thing I didn't catch that car down my road. That thing would've been shot full of holes''. Another insisted he was able to get more from the Borings' county tax records, which are also available online. The only thing he wasn't able to discover through the government site was images of the family pool. Still another observer commented by saying ''Welcome to the future''.
This, of course, does lead the way, as the plaintiff attorney suggested, for other private citizens to demand photos of their homes removed. The debate has officially begun: invasion of privacy or just the way a technologically advanced society now lives?
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