Hi ... is there a downside to using a dropped domain name? Do search engines penalize or carry forward misdeeds of former owner(s)? In a nutshell, is there a problem(s) using a dropped domain. Thanks.
It could have been used for spamming (emails) or could have been banned for some reason. It's hard to say what the last owner did with it. I would see if it shows up in archive.org and see if it was a legitimate website. Sometimes people just call it quits.
If you really think the domain is suitable for your website and not use it just for the pr or traffic,I think it's not necessary to consider this problem.Even if you want to check whether the domain has a bad history,usually it's not very easy to verify it.
hmansfield is right, theres no reason why google would penalize you unless the domain was used for anything untoward, If I remember correctly you can inform them that there is a change of ownership of the name in question (if its been banned or penalized) and they will remove any bans provided its not being used for the same purpose, you'll need to give them proof of ownership though I think.