TrustName client files fresh lawsuit in Verisign’s home court

Fresh lawsuit is in rem and in a different district.

Hand swiping a domain name

Oath Research, a firm that states its domains were stolen from its account at registrar TrustName, has filed a fresh lawsuit (pdf) to recover its most notable domain.

The firm originally filed a lawsuit in Fresh Jersey against TrustName. The judge in that case denied a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction since it lacked personal jurisdiction, and Oath had not shown why TrustName shouldn’t be given an opportunity to respond.

Oath Research’s fresh lawsuit is in rem against the domain name itself and no longer names TrustName. It adds the .com registry, Verisign, and the Chinese domain registrar, NiceNic. (The domain moved from TrustName to NiceNic, but has subsequently moved to Reg.ru.)

Importantly, the fresh case was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Verisign is located.

With TrustName no longer named and the switch to an in rem suit in Verisign’s district, Oath Research hopes to overcome the deficiencies in its first filing.

Also on the wire