Pinterest should now face a lawsuit from a former pal of one in all its founders who claims she helped create the platform. Bloomberg reported that Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Seabolt on Thursday denied the corporate’s movement to dismiss the lawsuit. Christine Martinez, the plaintiff, claims she was requested by co-founder Ben Silbermann to assist revive the app. The digital market strategist claims to have developed options tied to Pinterest’s Boards and created a advertising plan to enlist bloggers to advertise the platform, amongst different contributions.
Martinez filed a lawsuit towards the corporate in September, and Pinterest filed the movement to dismiss in December. The firm argued that Martinez’s claims are too previous to fall inside the statute of limitations. Seabolt disagreed with this and mentioned Martinez “sufficiently alleges” that she and the Pinterest founders agreed to deferred compensation. Pinterest went public in 2019, an occasion that Seabolt deemed “transformative” and in his view sealed the corporate’s obligation to pay Martinez.
In an announcement to Engadget, Pinterest’s chief communications officer LeMia Jenkins Thompson famous that the courtroom dismissed a number of of Martinez’s claims. Thompson additionally said that, “because the info come out, we’re assured the proof will verify that Plaintiff’s claims are meritless and that the remainder of this baseless lawsuit ought to be dismissed.”
According to the New York Times, Martinez was by no means formally employed at nor did she ever signal a written contract with the San Francisco-based firm. Instead, Martinez argues that the settlement was implied, primarily based on her discussions with Sciarra and Silbermann.
Martinez, who’s a former way of life blogger and founding father of an eccomerce startup, informed the Times she was keen to assist pals. “[…The Pinterest co-founders] had no marketing background or expertise in creating a product for women.”