Intermix Media loses preliminary round in court

A class action suit against adware company Intermix Media will be allowed proceed, a California judge ruled last week.

Intermix, which among other things, distributes downloadable advertising software via the Internet, lost part of a motion to dismiss a complaint brought by plaintiff Thomas Kerrins. Kerrins charged that Intermix, which is now owned by media giant Newscorp., allegedly placed pop-up advertising software, or adware, on his computer without permission, causing his PC to lose functionality.

On Jan. 10, a California judge dismissed Kerrins' claim of "unjust enrichment" on the part of Intermix. But the judge declined Intermix's motion to dismiss claims of computer crime and another that boils down to trespassing.

The adware business takes another small hit.