Positive Singles and Successful Match Class Action Filed, Alleging Unfair Competition and California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)
Internet Consumer Class Action Update: A class action was filed by John Doe against the the web site known as Positive Singles d/b/a PositiveSingles.com and Successful Match d/b/a at SuccessfulMatch.com. The plaintiff’s law firms are Green Welling, P.C. in San Francisco and Traverse Legal, PLC out of Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas and Traverse City, Michigan.
The class action complaint against Successful Match and Positive Singles is included below. The class action allegations against SuccessfulMatch.com include:
- PositiveSingles.com runs a dating site for people with STDs. Consumers register for the site and put their profile information in, selecting their personal attributes, beliefs and including which if any STD(s) they may have.
- When someone registers and puts their profile on PositiveSingles.com, they are assured of privacy and discretion, including marketing language such as “we care about your privacy more than other sites.”
- Other language assures members a “fully anonymous profile” and “100% confidential”.
- Positive Singles states that “we do not disclose, sell or rent any personal identifiable information to any third party organizations.”
- Contrary to the representations noted above, Positive Singles and its platform company Successful Match compensate any third party that wants to launch a STD dating site to use those member profiles in order to attract more members and subscriptions.
- SuccessfulMatch.com offers to its business customers who want to launch dating websites “pre-populated member databases” and, in fact, publishes member profiles to all websites that use its software in an elaborate and deceptive affiliate marketing scheme.
- Consumers believe they are registering for one particular dating platform found at a domain name when, in fact, their profiles are shown across hundreds or perhaps thousands of websites of which they have no prior knowledge.
- Some of these web sites seriously misrepresent who the registered member is as a person and their potential STD by placing those profiles on domains such as Gaypozdating.com, AIDSDate.com, herpesinmouth.com, ChristianSafeHaven.com, MeetBlackPOZ.com and PositivelyKinky.com with web site content and marketing language which falsely states that registered members, for instance, have HIV, are black, christian, gay or have other attributes which false represent the registered member and did not consent to.
- This affiliate marketing model deceptively lures members to web sites on domain names with 'pre-populated member profiles of people who do not have those attributes creating an argument that it is a scam.
- The class action complaint alleges unfair competition under California law in that the above and other allegations amount to unfair, unlawful and deceptive business practices.
- The class action complaint alleges a violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA"), California Civil Code § 1750, et seq. for unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices, and other acts prohibited by law.
Updates to this class action litigation against PositiveSingles.com and SuccessfulMatch.com will be posted as they become available.
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