NEWMAN & NEWMAN,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610

Seattle, Washington 98104

(206) 274-2800

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GEROE DECL. RE 

DEFS.’ MOT. FOR AN UNDERTAKING - 1

(CV06-0204JCC)

The Honorable John C. Coughenour

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

AT SEATTLE

JAMES S. GORDON, Jr., a married

individual, d/b/a

‘GORDONWORKS.COM’; OMNI

INNOVATIONS, LLC., a Washington

limited liability company,

Plaintiffs,

v.

VIRTUMUNDO, INC, a Delaware

corporation d/b/a

ADNOWLEDGEMAIL.COM;

ADKNOWLEDGE, INC., a Delaware

corporation, d/b/a

ADKNOWLEDGEMAIL.COM; SCOTT

LYNN, an individual; and JOHN DOES,

1-X,

Defendants.

No. CV06-0204JCC

DECLARATION OF MICHAEL R.

GEROE IN SUPPORT OF

DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR AN

UNDERTAKING

NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR:

November 17, 2006

I, Michael R. Geroe, swear under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United

States of America to the following:

1. I am General Counsel and an Officer of Defendant Adknowledge, Inc.

(“Adknowledge”), am over age 18, and competent to be a witness. I am making this

Declaration based on facts within my own personal knowledge.

Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC Document 39 Filed 11/02/2006 Page 1 of 5

Gordon v. Virtumundo Inc et al Doc. 39

Dockets.Justia.com
NEWMAN & NEWMAN,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610

Seattle, Washington 98104

(206) 274-2800

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GEROE DECL. RE 

DEFS.’ MOT. FOR AN UNDERTAKING - 2

(CV06-0204JCC)

ADKNOWLEDGE EMAILS

2. The Las Vegas Weddings Email. I reviewed the Adknowledge Rewards

email promoting Las Vegas weddings, attached as Exhibit G to the Declaration of Roger

Townsend filed in support of Defendants’ Motion for an Undertaking in the abovereferenced lawsuit (the “Las Vegas Weddings Email”). The Las Vegas Weddings Email

reflects that it originated from an email address at the domain name,

<adknowledgemail.com>. 

3. Adknowledge is the registrant of the domain name,

<adknowledgemail.com>. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a WHOIS record reflecting

that Adknowledge is the registrant of <adknowledgemail.com>. The WHOIS record

includes the name and correct mailing address of Adknowledge as “Adknowledge”

located at 4600 Madison, Kansas City, MO 64112. Adknowledge has permission to use

that domain name to identify itself as the sender of messages from the

<adknowledgemail.com> domain.

4. Additionally, Adknowledge is the registrant of two other domain names

contained in the Las Vegas Weddings Email’s transmission path, <ak-networks.com> and

<adknownet.com>. Attached hereto as Exhibits B and C are the WHOIS records

reflecting that Adknowledge is the registrant of <ak-networks.com> and

<adknownet.com>. As the registrant of those domain names Adknowledge has

permission to access those domain names for purposes of routing email and they do not

mislead as to transmission path. 

5. The Las Vegas Weddings Email also contains a link for a recipient to

unsubscribe from future Adknowledge Rewards emails. I reviewed Exhibit H to the

Declaration of Roger Townsend and recognize this as the Adknowledge unsubscribe

webpage. When a user types an email address into the Adknowledge unsubscribe

webpage and then clicks on the “Unsubscribe” link, that email address is blocked from

receiving future emails from Adknowledge Rewards.

Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC Document 39 Filed 11/02/2006 Page 2 of 5
NEWMAN & NEWMAN,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610

Seattle, Washington 98104

(206) 274-2800

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GEROE DECL. RE 

DEFS.’ MOT. FOR AN UNDERTAKING - 3

(CV06-0204JCC)

6. The Las Vegas Weddings Email contains Adknowledge’s physical postal

address in Kansas City, Missouri.

7. Finally, the Las Vegas Weddings Email was created and transmitted as part

of a specific campaign promoting Las Vegas tourism. The “from” line which identifies

Adknowledge and “Las Vegas Weddings” as the sender is not misleading as it accurately

identifies the campaign for which the message was sent. 

8. Life Insurance Email. I reviewed the Adknowledge Rewards email 

promoting life insurance, attached as Exhibit I to the Declaration of Roger Townsend

filed in support of Defendants’ Motion for an Undertaking in the above-referenced

lawsuit (the “Life Insurance Email”). Like the Las Vegas Weddings Email, the Life

Insurance Email reflects that it originated from an email address at the domain name,

<adknowledgemail.com>. 

9. The Life Insurance Email also contains a link for a user to unsubscribe from

future Adknowledge Rewards emails. I reviewed Exhibit J to the Declaration of Roger

Townsend and recognize this as the Adknowledge unsubscribe webpage. When a user

types an email address into the Adknowledge unsubscribe webpage and then clicks on the

“Unsubscribe” link, that email address is blocked from receiving future Adknowledge

Rewards emails.

10. The Life Insurance Email contains Adknowledge’s physical postal address

located in Kansas City, Missouri.

11. Finally, the Life Insurance Email was created and transmitted as part of a

specific ad campaign promoting life insurance products. The “from” line accurately

identifies Adknowledge and “LifeInsuranceNow” as the campaign for which the message

was sent. 

12. San Diego Tourism Email. I reviewed the Adknowledge Rewards email

promoting “San Diego Tourism,” attached as Exhibit K to the Declaration of Roger

Townsend filed in support of Defendants’ Motion for an Undertaking in the aboveCase 2:06-cv-00204-JCC Document 39 Filed 11/02/2006 Page 3 of 5
NEWMAN & NEWMAN,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610

Seattle, Washington 98104

(206) 274-2800

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GEROE DECL. RE 

DEFS.’ MOT. FOR AN UNDERTAKING - 4

(CV06-0204JCC)

referenced lawsuit (the “San Diego Tourism Email”). Like the Las Vegas Weddings

Email and the Life Insurance Email, the San Diego Tourism Email reflects that it

originated from an email address at the domain name, <adknowledgemail.com>.

Adknowledge has permission to use that domain name to identify itself as the sender of

the message.

13. Additionally, all but one of the domain names in the transmission path are

also <adknowledgemail.com>. Adknowledge has permission to access those domain

names for purposes of routing email and they do not mislead as to origination. 

14. The San Diego Tourism Email also contains a link for the user to

unsubscribe from future emails from Adknowledge Rewards. I reviewed Exhibit L to the

Declaration of Roger Townsend and recognize this as the Adknowledge unsubscribe

webpage. When a user types an email address into the Adknowledge unsubscribe

webpage and then clicks on the “Unsubscribe” link, that email address is blocked from

receiving future emails from Adknowledge Rewards.

15. The San Diego Tourism Email contains Adknowledge’s valid physical

postal address located in Kansas City, Missouri.

16. Finally, San Diego Tourism Email was created and transmitted as part of a

specific promotion for hotels in and travel arrangements to San Diego. The “from” line

accurately identifies Adknowledge and “San Diego Tourism” as the ad campaign for

which the message was sent.

PLAINTIFFS’ IP ADDRESS AND OPT-IN INFORMATION

17. Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of an Excel

spreadsheet which accurately reflects information obtained, stored and maintained in the

normal course of business in the Adknowledge central database. Exhibit D was created

by filtering information related to users with email addresses at the domain name,

<gordonworks.com>. 

18. Exhibit D is significant for two reasons. First, the Exhibit indicates that the

Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC Document 39 Filed 11/02/2006 Page 4 of 5
Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC Document 39 Filed 11/02/2006 Page 5 of 5