• by Wendy Davis , April 10, 2009

A federal court has refused to revisit a decision handing Google a victory in a lawsuit about its street view program.

U.S. District Judge Amy Reynolds Hays in the western district of Pennsylvania ruled this week that there was no reason to reconsider her earlier decision tossing the case.

Last year, Pittsburgh couple Aaron and Christine Boring sued Google for invasion of privacy and trespass for having allegedly entered a private road to take photos of their home. Google Street View displayed images of the Boring's property on its Street View service, but removed them at the couple's request.

Hays dismissed the case in February, ruling that the couple had not made out a case for invasion of privacy or trespass. As to trespass, Hays specifically ruled that the Borings hadn't alleged that they suffered any monetary damages.

The Borings asked Hays to reconsider that finding. "This Court tells Google that it is okay to enter onto a person's private property without permission. I would not teach that rule to my child," their lawyers argued. "This Court's ruling makes our private property a Google Slave; our property is no longer our own: it is forced to work for another, against its will, without compensation, for the profit of another."

Google successfully opposed the request, arguing that the Borings' "hyperbole only serves to demonstrate the weakness of their position."