A Maryland state appeals court last week ruled that even spam from out of state can violate Maryland law.
Montgomery County Court of Appeals Judge Sally D. Adkins overturned a lower court ruling that Maryland’s anti-spam law unconstitutionally interfered with interstate commerce.
The case stems from a civil lawsuit filed by Eric Menhart, a student at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., who claimed that Joseph Frevola of Long Island, N.Y., sent Menhart’s corporation, MaryCLE (pronounced “miracle”), more than 80 spam e-mails despite Menhart’s requests they stop.
In December 2004, Judge Durke G. Thompson ruled that Maryland’s 2002 Commercial Electronic Email Act was unconstitutional because it tried to regulate commerce outside Maryland’s borders.
The courts haven’t yet ruled whether Frevola has broken the law. It is unclear what will happen next in this case. According to an Associated Press report, Frevola would like to appeal but can’t afford to because he’s gone out of business.
The Can-Spam Act of 2003 overrides state anti-spam laws, except those that are not specific to e-mail or those that address fraud. Maryland’s 2002 law addresses fraud.
“MaryCLE,” an acronym for Maryland Consumer Legal Equity, is a self-proclaimed consumer protection firm that was set up to specifically go after online, postal and fax marketers.
