Yahoo Class Action Says Web Hosting Service Canceled Without Notice

Yahoo! Inc., and its subsidiary Aabaco Small Business LLC, face a class action lawsuit accusing the companies of failing to provide web hosting services for customers who paid for them.

Yahoo! Inc., known for its search engine Yahoo.com, offers online services for millions of people worldwide. Its subsidiary, Aabaco, offers small business services and particularly web hosting by “providing storage space and access for websites and email addresses connected to those websites.”

Aabaco is formerly known as Yahoo Small Business and currently provides the services tailored to owners of small businesses.

Plaintiff Ronald Meyer, a Michigan resident, says he registered for Yahoo’s web hosting in roughly 1998. Meyer states that for $9.95 per month, the defendants hosted his website and “provided him with business email accounts tied to his website.” Meyer’s websites pertained to two children’s books that he wrote and illustrated.

According to the Yahoo class action, consumers interested in purchasing Meyer’s books could email him through “the account tied to his photography website.”

However, Meyer says that although he was still making payments for the web hosting service, the defendants abruptly discontinued service “without notice or reason.” Meyer claims that “As a result of this, potential buyers of his books could no longer visit his URLs or write to him through his business email addresses.”

The plaintiff claims he contacted Yahoo to reinstall or reactivate his web hosting service or even cancel the service completely, numerous times, but nothing could be done. According to Meyer, “not a single customer service representative could help him in either reactivating his website and email accounts, or canceling his service after returning his website and email content.”

Meyer’s website and email accounts continue to be inaccessible, and the defendants continue to charge him the monthly web hosting fee, the lawsuit states.

Meyer says he’s not alone. The lawsuit contends that a large number of Yahoo customers suffer from similar complaints. They allege that either, “their web hosting was cancelled while there were still being charged, or they were simply unable to cancel their services.”

The plaintiff files the class action complaint individually and on behalf of all those similarly situated.

The Yahoo class action alleges violations of the Unfair Competition Law, California’s False Advertising Law, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unjust enrichment.

Meyer is represented by Rosemary M. Rivas and Quentin A. Roberts of Levi & Korsinsky LLP.

The Yahoo Web Hosting Class Action Lawsuit is Meyer v. Aabaco Small Business LLC., et al., Case No. 5:17-cv-02102, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.