''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.'' (initially filed as ''Doe v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.'') is a lawsuit brought by actress Junie Hoang in October 2011 against

IMDb.com IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

and its parent company

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

for revealing her true date of birth, which she said opened her up to

age discrimination Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this discrim ...

. In March 2013, all of her claims against Amazon and all but one of her claims against IMDb were dismissed, and in April 2013, a jury found that IMDb was not liable for the remaining claim for breach of contract; the verdict was upheld on appeal.

Lawsuit

Hoang, whose real name is Huong Hoang (), is a

Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans () are Americans of Vietnamese people, Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth ...

actress. She had small parts in films such as '' Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver'' and ''Hoodrats 2: Hoodrat Warriors''. In October 2011, Hoang filed a lawsuit in the

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

against the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

(IMDb) and its parent company

,''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.'', no. 11-cv-01709, (W.D. Wash., filed Oct. 13, 2011); retrieved fro
PACER
Apr. 12, 2013 alleging that IMDb had accessed her account information to obtain her true birth date (July 16, 1971), then displayed it as part of the information on her entry as an actress. Her complaint alleged that the use of her account information was wrongful and that publication of the information would cause her to suffer age discrimination in casting. Hoang's lawsuit was originally filed under the name "

Jane Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

", but in December 2011, U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman in Seattle dismissed the original lawsuit with leave to refile under her own name, saying the actress had no grounds to proceed with an anonymous complaint. On January 6, 2012, Hoang refiled, revealing her name. In March 2013, Judge Pechman granted Amazon's motion for

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment, also referred to as judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition, is a Judgment (law), judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full Trial (law), trial. Summa ...

, releasing it from the case; and IMDb's motion for summary judgment on Hoang's Washington state's Consumer Protection Act claim and

emotional distress In medicine, distress is an aversive state in which a person is unable to completely adapt to difficult situations and their resulting effects and shows maladaptive behaviors. It can be evident in the presence of various phenomena, such as inapp ...

claims. The case went to trial on April 9, 2013 on the remaining cause of action, IMDb's alleged breach of contract, with IMDb as the sole defendant. On April 11, 2013, a federal jury in Seattle rejected the breach of contract claim.

Appeal

In May 2013, Hoang filed a notice of appeal in the case. Hoang's opening brief was filed on October 30, and IMDb's answering brief was filed December 24;''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al'', no. 13-35390, 9th Cir., docket report, retrieved fro
PACER
August 25, 2014. Hoang voluntarily dismissed Amazon.com from the appeal on November 4. Hoang's reply brief was filed February 3, 2014. There were two motions made to file

amicus curiae An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...

briefs in support of Hoang; one by four

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

s David Ransil, Brad Markowitz, Steven Tag Mendillo and Mark Lisson on November 20; and one by the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

(SAG), the

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...

(AFTRA) and the

Writers Guild of America, West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

(WGAW) on November 25. Both motions were denied, because they did not address the ground on which Hoang had appealed. Oral argument in the case was held in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

on February 6, 2015. The Ninth Circuit panel was composed of circuit judges Carlos Bea and Mary H. Murguia, and district judge William H. Orrick III, sitting by designation. On March 27, 2015, the Ninth Circuit panel unanimously affirmed the decision in favor of IMDb.

Reaction and aftermath

Two actors' unions, SAG and AFTRA, supported Hoang, saying that IMDb was "facilitating age discrimination". After the lawsuit was decided, the unions pressed the

California legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

to enact legislation requiring Internet sites to remove birth dates and ages of entertainers upon their request. The legislature enacted the law, Assembly Bill 1687, in September 2016. In February 2018, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria struck down the law as violating the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. In June 2020, the

Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

affirmed Chhabria's judgement, holding that the statute was an unconstitutional content-based restriction that violated the First Amendment.
IMDb.com v. Becerra, et al.
', nos. 18-15463, 18-15469 (9th Cir. June 19, 2020).

References

External links

In the Northern District for California

* ''Doe v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.''
original complaint
(October 13, 2011) * ''Doe v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.''
order
dismissing original complaint (December 23, 2011) * ''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.''
first amended complaint
(January 6, 2012) * ''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.''
order
dismissing some claims (March 28, 2012), via

Santa Clara University School of Law The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. Santa Cla ...

's Digital Commons * ''Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al.''
order
dismissing all remaining claims except the breach-of-contract claim against IMDb (March 18, 2013)

In the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

* '' Huong Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. and IMDb.com, Inc.'' no. 13-35390 (9th Cir.
docket
from Justia) * '' Huong Hoang v. IMDb.com'', no. 13-35390 (9th Cir. Feb. 6, 2015
oral argument
* ''Huong Hoang v. IMDb.com, Inc.'' no. 13-35390 (9th Cir.
opinion of the court
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoang, Huong v. Amazon.com, Inc. and IMDb.com, Inc. United States privacy case law United States contract case law 2013 in United States case law 2014 in United States case law 2013 in Washington (state) United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit cases Amazon (company)