• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 30, 2011

A judge has cleared the way for four Web users to sue the social networking site MyLife.com for allegedly duping them into purchasing memberships by sending deceptive emails.

The lawsuit, a potential class-action, alleges that MyLife.com enticed consumers into providing their credit-card information by sending false emails stating that someone was looking for them.

The consumers said they signed up for one-month trial memberships and expected to be billed small amounts, often under $15, but were instead charged far more -- sometimes over $100. In some cases, MyLife.com allegedly refused the consumers' requests for refunds.

"Although the amounts at stake for the individual victims are relatively small, MyLife has generated enormous revenues from this scam," the Web users allege.

The consumers' legal papers also included some online commenters' complaints about the site. One commenter allegedly registered as "sfsf sdgfsdgs" and then received a MyLife.com email saying that seven people were searching for "sfsf sdgfsdgs," according to the lawsuit.

The Web users allege that MyLife.com violated a host of California consumer protection laws, including laws regarding false advertising.

MyLife.com filed papers asking U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken to dismiss the case, arguing that the consumers did not allege sufficient facts to show they were deceived.

Wilken denied that request earlier this month. "Plaintiffs plead that the names of the people purportedly looking for them are fictitious and they allege a sufficient factual basis to support this assertion," Wilken wrote.

The Web users also sued venture-capital firm Oak Investment Partners, which invested $25 million in MyLife. But Wilken dismissed the case against Oak Investment, ruling that the consumers did not sufficiently allege that Oak Investment conspired with MyLife to dupe them.

MyLife.com isn't the only social site to face litigation over email campaigns. Classmates.com recently agreed to a $2.5 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit alleging that it tricked people into purchasing premium memberships by sending deceptive email ads. The messages allegedly told recipients they were being sought out by former schoolmates.

MyLife.com did not respond to Online Media Daily's request for comment.