Originally Posted by
eikniwt
"To date, there have been very few lawsuits in the U.S. involving virtual goods. One case against the operator of Second Life settled out of court and another seeking to define the rights of purchasers of virtual property in Second Life is ongoing. As is frequently the case, technology far outpaces the law and the law struggles to catch up. Given the large amounts of money at stake, hopefully the uncertainty of the legal status of virtual goods will be resolved sooner rather than later."
That question has been already answered in France, as there are already four legal precedents, all going with personnal property definition.
There are actually no legal status of virtual goods in USA and the ToS doesn't apply if there is a sue against one individual (and not against PLW). One individual can't raise a contract that hasn't been signed between the two parties involved in the law dispute ; so the law applies (or legal precedents) and the ToS are irrelevant.