Taylor v. Google LLC

Background

Joseph Taylor, Edward Mlakar, Mick Cleary, Eugene Alvis, and Jennifer Nelson filed a proposed class action against Google LLC. The plaintiffs alleged that Google made “passive” transfers of data through the Android operating system while their mobile devices were idle, stationary, untouched, and had their applications closed. They alleged that the transfers occurred without their knowledge or consent.

The proposed class included natural persons in the United States, excluding citizens of California, who had used Android devices to access the internet through cellular data networks. The plaintiffs asserted claims for conversion and quantum meruit. They invoked federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act.

The court had previously dismissed the original complaint and allowed limited amendment. The amended complaint changed the alleged property from “cellular data allowances” to “cellular data” and argued that quantum meruit was an independent claim rather than one deriving from conversion.

Conversion claim

Under California law, conversion requires an ownership or possession right in property, wrongful interference with that property right, and resulting damages. The court concluded that changing the description from “cellular data allowances” to “cellular data” did not change the nature of the claimed interest. In the court’s view, the allegations still described a contractual right to access a cellular carrier’s network, measured by the amount of data transmitted.

The court held that the plaintiffs had not plausibly alleged that they possessed or controlled particular bytes of cellular data, or that their access to the network was exclusive. The court therefore concluded that the claimed contractual access right was not personal property capable of conversion. The court also noted that the amended complaint did not allege that any plaintiff paid an overage charge or experienced slower service or lost phone functions because of Google’s alleged conduct.

The court granted Google’s motion to dismiss the conversion claim.

Quantum meruit claim

Quantum meruit is a claim seeking reasonable payment for services provided when the circumstances show that the services were not intended to be free. The court held that the amended complaint did not plausibly allege that the plaintiffs provided services to Google for which compensation was expected.

The court reasoned that the alleged cellular-network access appeared to be a service provided by the plaintiffs’ cellular carriers, not a service provided by the plaintiffs to Google. It also found no allegations showing that the plaintiffs expected compensation from Google or that Google knew of circumstances creating such an expectation. The court further noted that the amended complaint did not allege that all plaintiffs were affected by the alleged transfers or suffered an injury.

The court found that the plaintiffs failed to state a quantum meruit claim.

Disposition

The court concluded that further amendment would be futile because the plaintiffs had already received an opportunity to amend and had provided no basis to believe that additional facts could state a plausible claim. The court granted Google’s motion to dismiss the first amended complaint without leave to amend, directed the Clerk to enter judgment, and ordered the file closed. The court denied Google’s request for judicial notice as moot because it did not need to consider the submitted terms of service, policies, or declaration.