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Follow UsSAN FRANCISCO: Domain name registrar Go Daddy Software Inc. said on Thursday
it is suing VeriSign Inc., the fourth complaint against the market leader for
allegedly deceiving rivals' customers into transferring their business.
The latest lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Phoenix, accuses
VeriSign of false and deceptive advertising, interference with customer
relationships, misappropriation of trade secrets and consumer fraud, according
to Scottsdale, Arizona-based Go Daddy.
At issue are letters VeriSign is sending to people labeled "Domain Name
Expiration Notices" that urge recipients to return the forms, along with
$29 per domain, or risk losing their domains, Go Daddy said. However, the
"reply by" dates on the forms have no correlation to the expiration of
the domains, Go Daddy said. Customers who replied to the forms were paying $29
instead of $8.95 per domain they had been paying to Go Daddy, the company added.
The non-profit California Consumer Action Network asked a court in San Diego
to stop VeriSign's direct marketing campaign in late March. After BulkRegister
filed a lawsuit in May, a Maryland judge ordered VeriSign to stop sending the
letters to BulkRegister customers.
Later that month, a Los Angeles law firm filed its own lawsuit against
VeriSign seeking class action status. A VeriSign spokesman said the Mountain
View, California-based company does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The company also faces a handful of lawsuits seeking class action status that
accuse the company of inflating its stock price and misleading investors about
organic revenue growth.