Texas couple discovered spy cameras in Manatee County AirBNB, legal options limited

Posted: 11/3/2021 / 5:05 PM EDT
/ Updated: 11/03/2021 / 5:05 PM EDT

Airbnb is a website that enables users to rent accommodation in private homes.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Cap News Services) – A Texas couple who discovered spy cameras in their AirBNB rental in Manatee County and petitioned the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday for their day in trial.

The couple were prevented from suing for agreeing to the vacation rental’s terms and conditions.

When someone signs up with AirBNB and most other online platforms, they must first agree to the company’s Terms of Service. But did the Texas couple agree to be spied on?

The couple, known only as John and Jane Doe, have come before the Florida Supreme Court with a difficult argument: it has not been made clear that they are relinquishing their legal rights to a third party.

“You give an arbitrator the power to make a decision, but this is not intended to replace the court’s inherent authority to make that decision,” said attorney Tom Seider, who represents the couple.

AirBNB’s attorney disagreed. “The terms of use begin with capital letters. Read these terms of use. Your statutory rights and remedies are limited, ”said AirBNB attorney Joel Perwin.

The Supreme Court justices asked why the language wasn’t clearer.

“Just three or four, five, six, seven more words that basically say that your referee will decide whether he or she gets the case or not,” said Judge Jorge Labarga.

The spy cameras were not mentioned at all in court on Wednesday and will never appear in front of a judge unless the Supreme Court rules that the terms are not as clear as they could be.

Afterward, the couple’s lawyer said they knew they would give up some rights but not others.

“Our contract doesn’t talk about surveillance. It states that we will arbitrate claims for deposits or if the property does not match what we saw online. So we agreed to settle these claims. We did not agree to whether we were illegally monitored, ”said Seider.

On their website, Airbnb makes its stance on host monitoring of guests very clear:

“We require hosts to disclose all security cameras and other recording devices in their listings, and we prohibit all security cameras and other recording devices located in certain private rooms or monitoring the interior of certain private rooms [such as bedrooms and bathrooms]regardless of whether they have been disclosed. Intentionally hidden recording devices (such as hidden surveillance cameras) are never allowed. “

Only one of at least three Florida appeals courts have ruled against AirBNB on cases like this one. Because of the different findings, the case is before the Supreme Court. There is no timeline for a judgment.

The post Texas couple discovered spy cameras in Manatee County AirBNB, legal options limited first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

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