United States Ninth Circuit

In an action brought against the operator of an online roommate matching website, Roommate.com, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and state laws, summary judgment for defendant on the FHA claim is reversed where: 1) contrary to the lower court's holding, the Communications Decency Act (CDA) does not immunize Roommate.com for all of the content on its website and in its email newsletters; and 2) a remand was necessary to determine in the first instance whether the alleged actions for which Roommate is not immune violate the FHA.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/12/2007
• Decided 04/03/2008
• Published 04/03/2008

Judges

• KOZINSKI, Chief Judge:, Before:  ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, STEPHEN REINHARDT, PAMELA ANN RYMER, BARRY G. SILVERMAN, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, W. FLETCHER, RAYMOND C. FISHER, RICHARD A. PAEZ, CARLOS T. BEA, MILAN D. SMITH, JR. and N. RANDY SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Ann Brick, Margaret C. Crosby and Nicole A. Ozer, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California as amicus curiae in support of neither party., John P. Relman, Stephen M. Dane and D. Scott Chang, Relman & Dane PLLC, Washington, DC;  Joseph D. Rich and Nicole Birch, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington, DC, for National Fair Housing Alliance and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as amici curiae in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Michael Evans, Christopher Brancart, Brancart & Brancart, Pescadero, CA;  Gary Rhoades, Rhoades & Al-Mansour, Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees., Timothy L. Alger, Kent J. Bullard, Steven B. Stiglitz and Lesley E. Williams, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the defendant-appellee/cross-appellant., Kelli L. Sager, Los Angeles, CA;  Thomas R. Burke, San Francisco, CA;  Bruce E.H. Johnson and Ambika K. Doran, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Seattle, WA, for News Organizations as amici curiae in support of the defendant-appellee.