Pinterest must now face a lawsuit from an old friend of one of its founders who claims he helped build the platform. Bloomberg reported Alameda County Supreme Court Judge Richard Seabolt on Thursday rejected the company’s motion to dismiss the case. Plaintiff Christine Martinez claims she was asked by co-founder Ben Silbermann to help revive the practice. The digital market strategist claims to have developed Pinterest-linked features. and created a marketing plan to engage bloggers to promote the platform, among other contributions.
Martinez filed a lawsuit against the company in September, and Pinterest filed for dismissal of the lawsuit in December. The company argued that Martinez’s claims were too old to expire. Seabolt disagreed, saying Martinez “argued enough” that he and the Pinterest founders agreed on deferred compensation. Pinterest went public in 2019, an event that Seabolt described as a “converter” and, in his opinion, sealed the company’s obligation to pay Martinez.
LeMia Jenkins Thompson, Pinterest’s chief communications officer, told Engadget that the court denied several of Martinez’s claims. Thompson also said that “as the facts come to light, we are confident that the evidence will confirm that Plaintiff’s allegations are unfounded and that the remainder of this baseless case should be dismissed.”
By New York TimesMartinez was never formally employed and did not sign a written contract with the San Francisco-based company. Instead, Martinez argues the deal was implied, based on his discussions with Sciarra and Silbermann.
Martinez, a former lifestyle blogger and founder of an e-commerce startup, Times He was eager to help his friends. “[…The Pinterest co-founders] had no marketing background or expertise in creating a product for women.”
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