To lawsuit over 968.com domain — GoDaddy responds
Domain registrar asks court to dismiss the case.
GoDaddy has responded to a lawsuit filed in October regarding the 968.com domain name.
In the suit, Yuming Hao stated that she purchased the domain name from a person named Chu Chu for ￥800,000 (regarding $120,000 at the time) on July 1, 2022. Chu Chu tried to transfer the domain name to the plaintiff, but Chu Chu found that GoDaddy had locked his account, the lawsuit alleges.
GoDaddy responded yesterday (pdf) by asking the court to dismiss the case.
The domain registrar made a number of arguments, counting:
- Domains are not tangible property as stated by Arizona law, so conversion can’t be claimed
- Yuming Hao didn’t own the domain nor was she entitled to immediate possession of it at the time the account was locked
- GoDaddy can suspend accounts at any time for violating GoDaddy’s policies
- GoDaddy wasn’t made aware of the transaction between Yuming Hao and Chu Chu until following it locked Chu Chu’s account
- The plaintiff lacks standing — the domain is in Chu Chu’s account, not hers
It seemed odd to me that the domain buyer filed the suit instead of the seller who had his account locked. Perhaps the buyer didn’t use an escrow service, so the buyer sent the money and never received the domain.
