The South Dakota Supreme Court has thrown out a case involving 46 alleged violations of a law prohibiting misleading spam emails.
The case of Lapin V. ZeetoGroup ultimately hinged on location rather than the content of the alleged misleading spam.
Joshua Lapin said he received emails that were misleading, falsified, or had third-party domain names without the permission of that party. Court documents say Lapin was working as a “digital nomad” at the time of the alleged infraction. Essentially, working remote or freelance jobs that allow the employee to move freely from state-to-state or internationally.
Lower courts ruled that Lapin was not a resident of the state, and thus not able to prove his account was a “South Dakota electronic mail address.”
Following appeal though, the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant ZeetoGroup, concluding that a defendant in this situation must prove actual residency to be considered a “resident of the state.”
The court ruled staying at an Airbnb for a month, during which the plaintiff did not get a job, enroll in school, sign a lease, or purchase property, implies he did not maintain an actual residence in the state.
Ultimately, the court found Lapin to be a temporary resident. The case was further complicated by Lapin not receiving the alleged spam emails until three months after leaving South Dakota.