According to the Reuters report, on Monday a Los Angeles judge declined a $45 million false advertising lawsuit against online advertising company ValueClick Inc. Some observers believe that could blunt the most aggressive state law regulating commercial email.

Richard Adler, granted summary judgment in favor of ValueClick, its subsidiaries and co-defendant PrimaryAds in the action brought last year by Hypertouch under a state law barring false and misleading commercial emails, the report says. The federal CAN-SPAM Act preempted Hypertouch's claims concerning 45,000 emails containing false claims as the company did not present actual fraud or deception by the defendants.

The state law is to prevail in the cases, when plaintiffs allege and satisfy the elements of fraud, including intent.

Kevin Rosen and Ashlie Berenger, ValueClick's attorneys, said the ruling, believed to be the first by a California court on anti-spam preemption, would be significant for commercial advertisers, facilitating advertising across the country.