Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook issued an opinion on Maaffirming the decision by the district court. The appeal was argued on Februbefore the Seventh Circuit. The plaintiffs appealed the decision to the Seventh Circuit.

District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that Section 230 of the CDA provided a safe harbor for Internet service providers that 'publish' classified ads that violate the FHA, which (among other things) prohibits discriminatory advertisements for housing.

All of the gains are going to get lost if the same rules don't apply.' District Court ruling Prior to trial, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster publicly asserted that, 'It is our understanding that the law is very clear to the effect that sites like Craigslist cannot be held legally liable for the content of postings submitted by end users.' A lawyer for the Chicago housing group, Stephen Libowsky, disagreed with that assessment, stating that the goals of the lawsuit are to ensure that '.Internet places like Craigslist treated no differently than newspapers and other media who have traditionally been posting real estate advertisements. In 2006, Chicago Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law sued Craigslist for maintaining the service in violation of the FHA. Instead, Craigslist depends on users to report abusive advertisements, which are then examined and removed if found to be inappropriate. While Craigslist has pulled such advertisements (and has a policy requiring customers who post classified ads to adhere to the FHA), Craigslist does not prescreen advertisements prior to publication on their site, and as of March 2006, still refuses to do so. Some customer posted advertisements have included clauses like 'NO MINORITIES' and 'Requirements: Clean Godly Christian Male', both of which violate the provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Craigslist maintains a posting service that allows its customers to advertise rental properties.

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