Spam suit: want a free colon cleanse?

The lawsuit against, Genix Marketing, Luminous Brites.com and also ColoMed700.com and others claims that the spammers sent out thousands of spam emails through the plaintiff’s ISP, ASIS Internet Services and violated the California Unfair Business Practices Statute by false or misleading subject lines in their emails such as: “Re: Complimentary Colon Cleanse,” and “Home Tooth White Made Easy – Free Aquafresh Kit.”  

Is it just me or do these suits seems screwy?  First, the standard applied to email subject lines is that they entice a reasonable consumer to open the email.  Really? By now people haven’t figured out that subject lines like the above are spam? Second, do these emails really work?  And if so, isn’t it buyer be aware?  Do we want the courts to spend critical time and resources protecting people against obvious stupidity?  Finally, the damages of $1,000 per email seems excessive and unproductive.  I think this issue should be handled through regulation and government investigation.  Perhaps as part of business licensing renewal.  I’m skeptical of the value of using the courts in this fashion.

Complaint courtesy Courthousenews