Pokemon Goes to Court in Backyard Monster Trespassing Case
- New Jersey resident’s complaint may be first over gaming craze
- Suit follows anguish over monster hunters at Holocaust museum
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 17: Pokemon Go players are seen in search of Pokemon and other in game items at the Santa Monica Pier on July 17, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Photographer: PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC ImagesA New Jersey resident with a pocket monster in his backyard filed what may be the first lawsuit against Niantic Inc. and Nintendo Co. for unleashing Pokemon Go across the U.S., claiming that players are coming to his home uninvited in their race to “catch ’em all.”
The West Orange man alleges the companies have created a nuisance with their GPS-based game and seeks class-action status on behalf of all Americans whose properties have been trespassed upon by players in search of Pokemon Go monsters. The complaint includes references to Pokemon hunters parading into an Alabama cemetery and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and also cites a Massachusetts homeowner visited more than a dozen times within hours of the game’s release last month.