BENTON – Highland florist Catherine Weber, who claimed wedding website The Knot and web registration manager GoDaddy referred customers to competitors, dismissed the claim against GoDaddy on Sept. 1.
Her claim against The Knot remains active at U. S. district court.
Weber's counsel, James Craney of Edwardsville, filed for arbitration against both businesses in Madison County Circuit Court in July.
| A Special Touch
Craney described Weber’s shop, A Special Touch, as a legitimate brick and mortar shop that sells flowers directly to consumers.
He claimed the shop lost sales due to fraud and conspiracy.
Craney claimed failures to deliver merchandise and its deliveries of substandard merchandise harmed Weber's business reputation.
He added The Knot has A Special Touch on its website with its address and other identifying information.
He claimed consumers who attempt to contact A Special Touch using The Knot provide confidential and personal information.
Consumers fill out how many people they invited, how much they would pay, and what type of flowers they would need, he alleged.
Craney claimed The Knot falsely informs consumers that A Special Touch was contacted with the information.
He also claimed GoDaddy violates consumer law through a subsidiary, Domains by Proxy, that GoDaddy’s founder owns.
Craney claimed Domains by Proxy offers privacy services “so that websites can hide, conceal and keep secret the actual owners of the websites.”
He sought an injunction, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
The Knot removed the complaint to district court on Aug. 19, asserting diverse citizenship as a Maryland business.
The court clerk randomly assigned Magistrate Judge Reona Daly, who will preside if all parties consent to magistrate jurisdiction.
If they don’t, the clerk will assign a district judge.