Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

A New York judge has ordered MonsterHut to stop telling consumers that they had requested the firm’s e-mail.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lottie Wilkins ruled that MonsterHut violated the state’s consumer fraud laws when it told consumers it had obtained their permission to send the message, according to the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, which filed suit against Niagara Falls, NY-based firm last year.

The permanent injunction issued by Wilkins also names Monsterhut’s CEO Todd Pelow, and its chief technology officer Gary Hartl. A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 11 to determine restitution and civil penalties.

Wilkins ruled that the firm must stop engaging in "any of the fraudulent, deceptive and illegal acts and practices pertaining to representations of ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’ or the permission-based nature of their protocols or the collection and use of their e-mail data," according to Spitzer’s office.

In his lawsuit, Spitzer alleged that MonsterHut had told consumers they were receiving a solicitation because they requested it. He called this a misrepresentation.

Stephen Cobb, the author of "Privacy for Business: Web Sites and Email," said in a statement that "the court has done consumers a great service."

However, he added that "a lot of spam is sent by people who are either outside U.S. jurisdiction or have little regard for the law."

Spitzer said in a statement that "millions of New Yorkers have received spam falsely claiming that we have opted in, or somehow consented to receiving what amounts to junk e-mail.

He continued that "this decision holds e-mail marketers to the same standards that other retailers and advertisers are held to."