The couple, from Pennsylvania, claim that the company trespassed on a road marked private and owned by residents in order to take the photograph. Google has not responded to the specifics of the case.
The photograph allegedly appeared in Street View, a US-only Google service which publishes photographs of US streets. Google vans drive down streets with cameras on the roof to take 360 degree pictures of streets in the country's biggest cities.
The Borings allege invasion of privacy, claiming that Google “simply disregarded [their] privacy interests." They also make claims of trespass against Google.
The Street View feature has been controversial, with some pictured individuals upset that they have been captured in the images. But US law allows the publication of photographs taken in public of public areas.
Google’s policy is that it will remove pictures that are complained about by their subjects or the owners of houses pictured, but the Borings did not complain, proceeding straight to the courts instead.
Dennis Moskal, the couple's lawyer, told Law.com that they had not complained to Google in order to teach the company a lesson. “The reason was, that's what Google wants; then they don't have to have any accountability," Moskal said. "What's to motivate them to change and put in better internal controls?"
