August 24th, 2007
From the grave, SunRocket sues Vonage over customer list
Yes, there is a “ghost of SunRocket.” That’d be some legal entity called SunRocket LLC, formed to preside over the dissolution of SunRocket’s assets.
Assets presumably, principally being, the late VoIP-ers 200,000 strong subscriber list.
SunRocket LLC isn’t pleased with what they view as the “illegal” way in which Vonage obtained a list of these now former customers.
The SRLLC filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that in early June, the still-operating SunRocket and Vonage entered into hush-hush negotiations over a sale of that list. The complaint says that negotiations broke down, after which agreements were signed with 8×8 (Packet8) and TeleBlend.
SunRocketLLC is seeking “injunctive and declaratory” relief.
Vonage denies any wrongdoing.
“We believe the suit lacks merit,” Vonage spokesman Charles Sahner told The Register’s Cade Metz. “We obtained a VoIP subscriber list through an established marketing list broker. We were assured that the data was legally obtained and could be used without violating anyone’s proprietary rights.”
The list was reportedly obtained via New York-based marketing consultancy Paradysz Matera. Sahner said that in turn, that company acquired the list from a “data reseller.”
“We discussed a variety of arrangements, including the possibility of acquiring asserts of SunRocket, but in the end that didn’t work out,” Sahner said.
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
