Classmates.com sued over advertising

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Classmates.com is being sued for allegedly telling consumers their former classmates are searching for them just to get them to join the site.

Anthony Michaels of San Diego is going to court against the social networking site, ABC News reported Wednesday.

If the lawsuit succeeds, the network reported, it could raise the minimum standards of honesty for online businesses. Michaels is seeking class-action status.

"Upon logging into his Gold Membership profile in order to view the classmate contacts ... plaintiff discovered that, in fact, no former classmate of his had tried to contact him or view his profile," the complaint said. "Of those www.classmates.com users who were characterized ... as members who viewed plaintiff's profile, none were former classmates of plaintiff or persons familiar with or known to plaintiff for that matter."

The lawsuit is asking a state court to force the company to refund millions in subscription dollars and fine the company for deceptive advertising.

Although the lawsuits might seem funny, they are quite serious, said Scott Kamber, a plaintiff's attorney with KamberEdelson.

"Cases that seemingly have a similar chuckle factor are rooted in a real consumer fraud that influences a consumer purchase decision," Kamber said. "Sometimes people are defrauded and misled and obviously there is a financial benefit in companies making those claims or they wouldn't do it."