Facts

Change.org is a free website where anyone can create and share petitions to gather support for various causes. After the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, a user started a petition on Change.org titled "Justice for George Floyd," calling to prosecute the police officers who were involved in George Floyd's murder. This petition became the most popular petition on Change.org gathering over 20 million signatures and raising $7.7 million. On June 6, 2020, plaintiff Sean D. Randall signed the "Justice for George Floyd" petition and donated $3 to the cause. Plaintiff sued defendant Change.Org for breach of contract.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant misused the $3.00 contribution plaintiff donated to the "Justice for George Floyd" petition. Plaintiff contended that misusing his $3.00 contribution was a breach of contract between the parties because defendant agreed to put the Floyd petition on billboards across the country, blanket social media with calls to join the petition and email the petition to millions of people and finally to feature the petition 38 more times on Change.org to potential supporters.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant contended that plaintiff failed to pleads facts sufficient for a breach of contract cause of action. Defendant contended that it did not breach the contract by rendering some promised advertising on its website. Defendant also contended that it did not breach the contract by pledging funds to other racial justice programs after defendant completed its promised performance to plaintiff.

Result

The district court granted defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint without leave to amend ruling that plaintiff's complaint failed to allege that defendant breached the plain meaning of the contract.