Benjamin F. Chapman is an associate in Cooley's Litigation department. He joined the firm in 2004 and is a resident in the San Diego office.
Mr. Chapman practices complex business litigation, specializing in consumer class actions and lawsuits against technology and Internet companies. Mr. Chapman has handled over 75 cases for eBay and its related family of companies (PayPal, StubHub, and Skype), including consumer class actions, complex commercial litigation and arbitrations, in jurisdictions throughout the country. Mr. Chapman also represented PayPal in a trial in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, securing a total defense verdict. Some of the cases Mr. Chapman has handled include:
- Universal Grading Service et al. v. eBay Inc. et al., 2009 WL 2029796 (E.D.N.Y. June 10, 2009) – The district court granted eBay's motion to transfer this class action to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, enforcing the forum selection clause contained in eBay's online User Agreement. (See article).
- Nazaruk v. eBay Inc., 2006 WL 2666429 (D. Utah Sept. 14, 2006), aff'd, 223 Fed.Appx. 815 (10th Cir. 2007) – The district court granted eBay's motion to dismiss, enforcing the forum selection clause contained in eBay's online User Agreement (see article). Mr. Chapman also represented eBay on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, which affirmed the district court's dismissal.
- Fehrs v. StubHub, Inc. (Oregon Circuit Court) – The state court granted StubHub's motion to dismiss this class action alleging StubHub aided and abetted ticket sellers in violation of an ordinance barring ticket re-selling. The dismissal was based, in part, on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The case was voluntarily dismissed without any payment from the company. (See article).
- Michelson v. j2 Communications, Inc. (Los Angeles County Superior Court) – The state court sustained two separate demurrers to plaintiff's consumer class action complaint (including alleged violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the Unfair Competition Law) relating to a purported breach of the Company's Customer Agreement. The case was voluntarily dismissed without any payment from the company.
Mr. Chapman regularly advises Internet companies on the terms of their online User Agreements, including the dispute resolution provisions contained therein, and on how companies can take advantage of the immunity provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Mr. Chapman is one of the few attorneys in the country who has successfully (via a written opinion) invoked Section 230 immunity.
Mr. Chapman received his J.D. from the University of California Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 2004. At Boalt, he was a member of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Mr. Chapman also served as an extern for the Hon. Richard Paez of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During law school, Mr. Chapman was a Graduate Student Instructor in the UC Berkeley History Department, and the head coach of the Berkeley High School Freshman-Sophomore football team.
Mr. Chapman received his B.A., magna cum laude, in History with a minor in Japanese from Duke University in 2001, where he was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, and was named to the Dean's List every semester during his enrollment. During college he also studied at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.