Google Maps diminishing value of homes, causing "mental suffering"?

by Danny Mendez Apr 5th 2008

google maps street view of oakridge lane

A couple is accusing Google of diminishing the value of their property and causing them "mental" suffering" for including their recluse home in the Google Maps Street View project. The road leading up to their house is apparently labeled "private", something the Street View operator must've missed. We checked the Street View footage up to the house and didn't notice any clear "private" signs, but don't take our scientific analysis as fact.

They didn't like that Google invaded their "privacy". Some of the court papers are available online, and if you check them out, you'll notice mainly boring gibberish but also the address of the home. Suing Google has already done more damage to their "privacy" than the pictures on their own.

Aaron and Christine Boring want at least $25,000 and the 360 degree pictures destroyed, but something tells us the case doesn't stand a chance against Google's well paid, state-of-the-art, corporate lawyers, which come from the best lawyer factories in the nation.

Tags: google, law, lawsuit, legal, map, maps, petty lawsuits, PettyLawsuits, street view, StreetView, sue, suing

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

chrisaroz said 12:06PM on 4-05-2008

If it was me, I woulda skipped the pool and gone with central heat and air.. but different strokes for different folks.

Thayne said 6:28PM on 4-05-2008

LOL!!!! That's great. Personally, that house is a sh*t-stain. I can understand why they don't want people looking at it.

Aaron Slater said 1:44PM on 4-05-2008

Ooh, the plot unfolds... take a trip down their street, and suddenly it reads "This image is no longer available".

but did they pay the $25,000?

Andrew said 2:58PM on 4-05-2008

Anne and Christine Boring?

How dull...

Andrew said 2:58PM on 4-05-2008

wow... it's definitely Aaron...
I'm a fool..

yargnodrog said 1:05AM on 4-07-2008

First, I feel that comments about the condition or appearance of this man and womans property(good or bad) are off the ball.The real issue here is a citizens right to expect a certain level of privacy.Google is nothing more than another giant money making enterprise.Not some Dudley DoRight trying to make the world a better place thru technology.What is next, An overhead 360 of your property via sattilite with your family in the backyard?There needs to be at minimum something along the lines of the goverments Do-Not-Call program.It amazes me that people screamed and made all of the guff about spam email and laugh at something like this.Better wake up Bra.Maybe I would like to record your air transmitted voice conversations and make them available for download as an mp3 file.

Pablo C said 10:11AM on 4-07-2008

Anything visible "in plain view" from a public area can be legally photographed. This includes buildings and facilities, people, signage, notices and images. There is no legal precedent to prevent a photographer so long as the image being photographed is in plain view from a public area.

angel said 9:58PM on 4-15-2008

Its not about value its about safety. They are showing peoples back yards and homes. This shows who ever is looking that there may be kids there or something of value. It also give thief's a great view of a persons home and the access or hidden access ability. We must be careful at what we unleash and who it effects.

It is a great tool for the tax assessor though!!

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