Pittsburgh couple Aaron and Christine Boring sued Google in 2008, accusing the company of invasion of privacy, trespass and negligence when it posted pictures of their residence, including the swimming pool and a driveway, on Street View without their consent. Street View allows users free access to panoramic, navigable views of streets in and around major U.S. cities.
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia yesterday upheld a lower courts decision tossing most of the claims, but said the court erred on the trespass claim.
“The Borings have alleged that Google entered upon their property without permission. If proven, that is a trespass, pure and simple,” the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. “It was thus improper for the District Court to dismiss the trespass claim for failure to state a claim.”
The Borings, who live on a private road in Pittsburgh, alleged that their road is clearly marked with a “Private Road, No Trespassing” sign, according to the opinion. The Borings accused Google of disregarding their privacy interest by driving up their road to take photographs for Street View and making those photos available to the public.
The images have been removed from the Street View program, according to the opinion.
Google officials “believe this suit is without merit,” said Andrew Pederson, a spokesman for the Mountain View, California-based company.
Google fell $7.81, or 1.4 percent, to $534.29 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
The case is Boring v. Google Inc., 09-2350, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Philadelphia)