NEW YORK: A California judge has dismissed apartment investment and management company, Aimco's lawsuit against online marketplace and hospitality service provider, Airbnb.
Aimco, which owns and manages about 50,000 properties, sued Airbnb in February 2017 for deliberately incentivising people to breach their leases.
The company filed the lawsuit in both California and Florida state courts, seeking monetary damages as well as court orders to stop Airbnb from enabling people to breach their leases.
Moreover, in October 2017, Aimco filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Airbnb’s operations at four of its southern California properties.
However, Airbnb had argued that Aimco’s ban on subleasing was not enforceable under California law.
Airbnb also argued that it can’t be held responsible for the conduct of Aimco’s tenants and their guests.
Aimco had asserted that Airbnb is an information content provider, which makes the company legally responsible for the content on its platform.
The court, however, concluded that Airbnb is not an information content provider, as it hosts content rather than creating it.
Aimco still has an active lawsuit against Airbnb in Florida.