Airbnb defeats lawsuit over unauthorized subleases
Airbnb Inc. defeated a lawsuit by Apartment Investment & Management Co., one of the largest residential landlords in the country, alleging that the online home-sharing marketplace enables tenants to break their lease agreements through unauthorized sublets.
A federal judge in Los Angeles agreed with Airbnb that it’s insulated from the claims by the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that shields online service providers from liability for the content users post.
“Here, what allegedly makes the listings ‘unlawful,’ ‘illegal,’ or ‘offending’ is that they advertise rentals that violate Aimco’s lease agreements,” U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee said in a Dec. 29 ruling.