Classmates.com Gets New Shot At Arbitration in Photo Lawsuit

Classmates.com owner PeopleConnect Inc. got another chance to force arbitration in a woman’s suit alleging it used her name and likeness without consent, following a Ninth Circuit ruling that a district court prematurely denied its motion to compel.

Ohio resident Barbara Knapke sought to pursue an individual and class action right-of-publicity claim against PeopleConnect under Ohio law for using her image in its school yearbook database to promote its products. Knapke retained an attorney, Christopher Reilly, but the record doesn’t reflect when, the appeals court said.

Reilly created a Classmates.com account and searched for Knapke on the site. By creating ...