Epic Cash's Calif. Suit Against Zango, AdultFriendFinder Gets Underway

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Epic Cash’s battle against Zango and AdultFriendFinder has shifted to the Bay Area after a federal judge in Seattle dismissed claims brought on by Zango, which filed a countersuit.

In recent days, Adult FriendFinder has filed a demurrer at Santa Clara Superior Court, challenging the legal sufficiency of Epic Cash’s lawsuit.

Affiliate program Epic Cash has charged unfair business practices, claiming the online advertising company’s “wrongful display” of pop-ups and other advertisements “blocked content on [Epic Cash’s] websites for the purpose of promoting Zango’s clients, who offered services directly competitive to [Epic Cash’s],” according to court documents.

Epic Cash claims that once a computer is infected with Zango adware, the Zango Search Assistant monitors the user’s browser and collects keywords that are then used to trigger pop-up ads.

AdultFriendFinder, a competitor of Epic Cash’s EpicCams.com website, is accused of having used Zango’s services to have “diverted traffic away from Epic Cash sites and converted Epic Cash’s business to their benefit,” by “taking advantage of plaintiff’s marketing efforts,” presumably when potential consumers are inputting certain keywords or searching for specific sites, which subsequently leads to Zango pop-up ads.

Epic Cash attorney Gary Jay Kaufman of the Kaufman Law Group in Los Angeles said that Zango had attempted to keep the litigation in its hometown of Seattle, but the U.S. District Court saw through the tactic and dismissed the transparent forum-shopping attempt.

In a stinging rebuke, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said that Zango’s complaint was so broad that it would have amounted to an attempt to pre-empt all of Epic’s claims in the California action.

“Clearly Zango and AdultFriendFinder are pulling out all the stops to prevent what we feel will be a large damage award in Epic Cash’s favor,” Kaufman told XBIZ.

Zango spokesman Steve Stratz told XBIZ that “Epic Cash's case is baseless and its claims are without merit.”

“Our position has not changed,” he said.

Epic Cash has asked for $750,000 in damages in the case filed at Santa Clara Superior Court.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Tyler Wu Guests on Chaturbate's 'Sex Tales' Podcast

Tyler Wu is the latest guest on Chaturbate’s “Sex Tales” podcast, hosted by Melissa Stratton and Vanniall on the company’s “Camming Life” YouTube channel.

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eremote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eremote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

MyAdultAttorney's Corey D. Silverstein to Hold Post-Election Legal Impact Webinar

Industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein will hold a “Legal Impact” webinar titled “We Have a New U.S. President: Legal and Community Implications” on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. PST.

Show More