State of Washington Wins First Case Under Anti-Spam Law

Recently, the State of Washington became the first U.S. state to win a court judgment involving its anti-spam law. Under Washington's 1998 Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act ("UCEMA"), it is illegal to send an e-mail that uses deceptive subject lines, a third party's domain name without permission, or a false return address. The Attorney General's Office sued Jason Heckel ("Heckel") and his company, Natural Instincts, shortly after the UCEMA was enacted, accusing Heckel of violating the UCEMA. In a hearing held on September 13, 2002, the King County Superior Court decided that a trial was not necessary given that the facts of the case, that Heckel had violated all three provisions of the UCEMA, were not in dispute. The Court declared summary judgment against Heckel and held that only a hearing would be required to establish the amount of damages he will be ordered to pay. To view the Attorney General of Washington's press release, visit: http://www.wa.gov/ago/releases/rel_spam_091302.html For additional information, visit http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/87049_spam14.shtml