Rombom continues to attack OsiruSoft

In January, I wrote that the courts had found in favor of Joel Jared in the suit filed against him by Steven Rombom. Rombom sued Jared and OsiruSoft for listing Rombom as an open relay. Although the courts have ruled that Section 203 of the Communications Decency Act provides immunity to entities that help block spam, Rombom has now petitioned to have the case re-opened. You can read his petition and Jared's response at http://oretek.com/lawsuite/.

In a nutshell, Rombom is arguing that the CDA only protects those who use technical means to protect themselves, and that a blocking list is not "technical". He also argues that immunity is only provided to content-based spam filters. There is also considerable complaining about the procedures the courts used in the case, and a circular argument about what constitutes "good faith". He also seems to argue that Jared somehow broke into his computers by listing them as open relays.

Jared's response is essentially that his system was clearly technical in nature, and that the courts had already been satisfied on the good faith requirements. He goes into some detail on how open relays are exploited by spammers. He also complains that Rombom waited until now to make arguments he could just have easily made at the beginning.

Jared is still soliciting donations to help defray legal costs in this. See his web site for more information on how you can help.