Domain registrar in contempt, keeps 35.com domain frozen — Court finds

Judge stated Chinese domain firm failed to comply with court order.

A United States district judge has found (pdf) Leascend Technology Co., Ltd to be in civil contempt of court.

The action stems from a lawsuit Meta Platforms, parent firm of Facebook and Instagram, originally filed against domain name registrar OnlineNic. Meta alleged that the registrar was cybersquatting.

OnlineNic’s response was a bit odd, and in 2021, it stated it was shutting down rather than continuing to fight the lawsuit. Despite its claim, the registrar continues to operate today.

Meta argued that OnlineNic was an alter ego of Chinese domain registrar 35.com, and went following it to satisfy its judgment of over $5 million, counting legal fees. The court ruled that 35.com ought to be on the hook for the judgment.

But late last year, Meta discovered that 35.com was selling off its business. Suspecting an attempt to avoid paying the judgment, Meta secured a temporary restraining order to halt the sale. But the Chinese firm stated it was too late to do that.

What’s left of the firm that used to own 35.com, which is now under the umbrella of Leascend Technology, stated that it tried to send $5 million into an escrow account as the judge requested, but Chinese banking laws would not allow it to do so.

The judge found that Leascend did not take “every reasonable step” to comply with the order to send the payment. She also stated that Leascend’s counsel provided varying accounts of the payment process and why it failed.

A hearing on contempt remedies will be held on May 16. In the meantime, the judge ordered that U.S.-based domain registry Verisign continue to freeze many of the registrar’s domains, counting the 35.com domain name.