Airbnb Defeats Aimco Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Subleases

  • Startup ruled not responsible for ‘unlawful’ listings by hosts
  • Landlord complained of noisy tourists at high-end complexes
Photographer: Lisa Blue/iStockphoto via Getty Images
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Airbnb Inc. defeated a lawsuit by Apartment Investment & Management Co., one of the largest residential landlords in the U.S., alleging that the online home-sharing marketplace enables tenants to break their lease agreements through unauthorized sublets.

A federal judge in Los Angeles agreed with Airbnb that it’s insulated from the claims by the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that shields online service providers from liability for the content users post.