The case was filed against Salem businessman Jason Heckel, after
he sent unsolicited e-mail to millions of internet users to
advertise a booklet called “How to Profit from the Internet”.
According to the attorney general’s office, the lawsuit alleged
that Heckel used a misleading subject line that read “Did I get the
right e-mail address?” to entice recipients to open and read the
message. Heckel also used an invalid sending e-mail address to
which recipients were unable to reply.
The sum that Heckel will be required to pay in damages will be
determined in a separate hearing to be held later this autumn.
Under the statute, he could be ordered to pay up to $500 per
violation. Heckel said that he would appeal the decision.
Two years ago, another King County Superior Court judge ruled
that the statute was unconstitutional, but the decision was later
overturned by the Washington Supreme Court. The statute does not
ban all unsolicited e-mails, only those containing deceptive
subject lines or using invalid addresses or third parties’ domain
names without their permission.
More information about Washington’s1998 Unsolicited Commercial
Electronic Mail Act is available from:
www.mcnichol.com/spamlaw.htm
