Woman Sues Ashley Madison for Injuries Sustained Typing Fake Profiles

You probably didn’t require this extra-special news bulletin to know that liaison-facilitator Ashley Madison revels in being a pit of sleaze and self-loathing, but here it is anyway: a Brazilian immigrant living in Toronto is suing the company, claiming that she permanently damaged her wrists typing up hundreds of “fake female profiles” intended to lure men to Ashley Madison.

According to a story in the Globe and Mail, Doriana Silva is seeking $20 million (!) from Ashley Madison for the company’s “unjust enrichment” at her expense. Just for good measure, she’s also seeking an additional $1 million in punitive and general damages.

Silva says she was hired by Ashley Madison to help launch a Portuguese language version of the adultering site. Part of (read: all of) her duties were, she claims, the creation of 1,000 profiles of imaginary women, a labor that was apparently presented to her as “some sort of a normal business practice in the industry.” That sounds about right, actually, though it should be noted that Silva’s claims haven’t been proven in court. She insists that had she known about the “ethical and legal issues arising in relation to online fraud,” she would have turned downed the Ashley Madison gig.

That gig required an insane amount of typing, which led to pains in Silva’s wrists and forearms. The suit stalled when the company petitioned the court to strike all references to “ethics” and “unethical practices” from Silva’s claim. A Superior Court judge, however, found those words necessary to describe “the factual context in which the injuries were sustained,” so now the suit, after much legal-maneuvering, is back to square one.