Monson v. The Whitby School, Inc., No. 09-1096, 2010 WL 3023873 (D.Conn. August 2, 2010) Plaintiff Monson sued her former employer (a private school) for sex discrimination and related claims. The school filed counterclaims against Monson for, among other things, violation of (1) the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and (2) the Stored Communications [...]
Archive for the ‘Computer Crime’ Category
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, and unauthorized access
August 18th, 2010
No Comments
Access to private email server supports Stored Communications Act claims
June 15th, 2010
Comments Off
Devine v. Kapasi, 2010 WL 2293461 (N.D. Ill. June 7, 2010) Kapasi and Devine were equal shareholders in a corporation. In August 2009, the two decided to part ways. The corporation transferred one of its servers to Devine, and he immediately put it into the service of his new company. After the server was transferred, [...]
That bogus social networking profile can send you to jail
May 28th, 2010
4 Comments
Clear v. Superior Court, 2010 WL 2029016 (Cal.App. 4 Dist. May 24, 2010) The California Court of Appeal has held that a man who set up a bogus MySpace profile of his former church pastor can stand trial for criminal “personation.” The defendant’s alleged conduct that might really put him on the hook is what [...]
Judge: the concept of internet privacy is a fallacy upon which no one should rely
May 4th, 2010
4 Comments
People v. Klapper, — N.Y.S.2d —, 2010 WL 1704796 (N.Y.City Crim.Ct., April 28, 2010) Let’s hope that’s an overstatement. A recent case from a criminal court in New York dealt with whether an employer violated the state’s law prohibiting unauthorized use of a computer (Penal Law 156.05). Though the court probably came to the right [...]
Wait just a second . . . isn’t online gambling illegal?
January 26th, 2010
Comments Off
Wong v. Partygaming Ltd., — F.3d —, 2009 WL 4893955 (6th Cir. December 21, 2009) The Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in the case of Wong v. Partygaming is interesting if you’re a civil procedure wonk and care about things like which law applies to determine the enforceability of forum selection clauses in website terms and [...]
MySpace drinkin’ photos causing real life problems again
September 21st, 2009
1 Comment
Last time it was probation being revoked. This time it’s children being taken away. A recent Texas case shows how irresponsible social media use can have some unpleasant consequences. Mann v. Department of Family and Protective Services, 2009 WL 2961396 (Tex. App. September 17, 2009) Appellant had her baby taken away by state protective services. [...]
Conviction for sending intimidating MySpace message overturned
August 12th, 2009
Comments Off
Marshall v. State, 2009 WL 2243467 (Ind. App. July 28, 2009) Gotta love the facts of this case from my home state of Indiana. Marshall and Goodman traded cars with one another, but that deal went sour. Marshall then got into an altercation with Goodman’s mother (named Lee) and Marshall was arrested. She was also [...]
Drinkin’ photos on MySpace send man to prison
August 3rd, 2009
7 Comments
Lesson of the day: don’t post pictures of yourself on MySpace holding a beer if the conditions of your probation don’t let you drink alcohol or use the internet. Defendant Pressley pled guilty to some ugly crimes and was sentenced to a lifetime of probation. As part of the deal, he promised not “to consume [...]
