Domain name consultancy sued for unjust enrichment
Friday 13th November 2009
Domain name consultancy SnapNames.com is being sued after the firm admitted to price fixing and deception.
The site, which runs domain name auctions, artificially raised the market values of some addresses by entering the bidding itself.
A Florida circuit court was told that SnapNames.com unfairly profited from the price-fixing scam, reports law.com.
Consequently, anyone who was outbid or submitted higher bids in a domain names auction because of the employee's actions may be entitled to compensation, the site reported.
Santiago Cueto of law firm Coral Gables, said that the firm's admission was a shock for the industry, which is "begging for transparency".
He noted that some obscure domain names, expected to sell for relatively modest sums, received internal bids running into hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
In other recent domain name news, Insure.com recently sold its web address to the Vertical marketing agency for $16 million (£10.1 million).
Written by Debra Hastings-Henry