Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: July 2010 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


BRITANIC VENTURES 1 L P, ET AL. v. MICHAEL STUART, ET AL.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (HOUSTON)
4:10-CV-02604
FILED: 7/22/2010

Hacking isn’t what most people think of when lawsuits are filed alleging unauthorized access. But in fact any unauthorized access to a computer that causes damage is considered hacking under federal and state laws, and in this case the hacking action was brought under a state law prohibiting harmful access to a computer. You’d be surprised how often contractual disputes relating to IT and computer services support turn into allegations of “hacking”.

Britanic Ventures is the developer of high-end oceanfront living located in Mexico in the form of a condominium development. Defendants were responsible for developing Plaintiffs’ website. Defendants are alleged to have accessed the computer network and website of the Plaintiffs and hijacked it.

Plaintiffs allege distributing false copyright management information in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, breach of contract, conversion, misappropriation of trade secrets, harmful access by a computer, tortious interference with existing contracts, tortious interference with prospective relations, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of loyalty, breach of duty of confidentiality, fraud by non-disclosure, conspiracy, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violation of the Lanham Act, violation of the Texas Anti-Dilution Statute, common law unfair competition, violation of the Texas Theft Liability Act, violation of Texas Pen. Code § 33.02, infliction of bodily injury, and offensive physical contact. Relief requested includes declaratory judgments on behalf of the Plaintiff, a temporary restraining order, temporary injunctive relief, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, actual and consequential damages, statutory damages in an amount of $250,000 for each violation, exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a request for accounting. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1439.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: May 2010 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer
The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


3BA INTERNATIONAL LLC v. KEVIN LUBAHN, ET AL.
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON (SEATTLE)
2:10-CV-00829
FILED: 5/18/2010

If you are an email administrator, or have administrative access, and get into a dispute the last thing you want to do is surreptitiously obtain copies of all emails flowing in and out of a business server. This raises such a broad range of potential liability that it is almost unmanageable in terms of the risk to you and your financial well being.

3BA International is a professional basketball league that was formed in 2007. The individual Defendants were involved with the basketball league in one way or another and are alleged to have conspired to steal and misappropriate confidential and proprietary trade secret information. Defendant LuBahn is alleged to have hacked into all of the employees email accounts and directed that all incoming and outgoing emails be blind carbon copied to his personal email account.

Plaintiff alleges breach of common law confidentiality obligations, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty/common law duty of loyalty, tortious interference with business relationships, libel and slander, violation of the Lanham Act, conversion, misrepresentation and fraud, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violation of the Stored Communications Act, and violation of the Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Prayer for relief includes requests for injunctive relief along with actual damages, consequential damages, an award of attorneys’ fees and costs, and such other and further relief the court deems just and proper. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1430.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: February 2010 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


LOOPNET INC. v. CAROLINABIZBUYSELL INC. AND GINO CALEJO
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (SAN FRANCISCO)
3:10-CV-00612
FILED: 2/11/2010

When your use of a website exceeds the use permitted by the website owner in its “user agreement” or other contract to which you are bound, it is unauthorized access and the federal hacking law applies if damages reach a certain level. The courts are split as to how to evaluate damages in situations like this, but the rule of thumb is that you must abide by the contract terms of a website.

Loopnet is a leading commercial real estate information service provider offering a suite of products and services for the commercial investment industry. The Defendant is a South Carolina corporation that operates as a full service business brokerage. The Defendant is alleged to have repeatedly and intentionally accessed Loopnet’s “BizBuySell.com” website without authorization and obtained business listings and reproduced that information on its own website as its own independently developed information.

The lawsuit alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and common law unfair competition. The Prayer for Relief includes requests for temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief as well as compensatory damages, treble damages, exemplary damages, punitive damages, and cost of litigation. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1408.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: January 2010 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.

INTERACTIVE INFLATABLES, CORP. AND PARTY PALS v. KENNETH RICHARD KOVIN, ET AL.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (SAN DIEGO)
3:10-CV-00197
FILED: 1/26/2010

Disputes about the ownership of domain names are nothing new. If you are an employee of a company or a partner with someone, make sure you have a clear understanding as to who actually owns a domain name. All because your name is on the account as a registrant contact, or even as the individual registrant, means very little if you acquired it while employed by, and for the benefit of, your employer or other business enterprise.

The Plaintiff is one of the largest special events, party and game rental sources in the country. The Defendants are former employees who allegedly acquired access to the Plaintiff’s domain name registrant account at Go Daddy before they left to start a competing business and transferred control of the Plaintiff’s website to themselves hidden behind the “domains-by-proxy” service.

The lawsuit alleges intentional and bad faith misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, common law unfair competition, violation of California Business and Professional Code 17200 and 17500, conversion, fraud, intentional interference with economic relationships, intentional interference with prospective business advantage, federal unfair competition, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, copyright infringement, breach of duty of loyalty, and civil conspiracy. The claim for relief includes a request for declaratory relief and extensive injunctive relief as well as restitution, disgorgement of profits related to Plaintiffs’ trade secrets, actual damages, compensatory damages, consequential damages, punitive damages, statutory double damages, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1391.

ASSOCIATED CONTENT, INC. v. BRIAN ADAMS
DISTRICT OF COLORADO (DENVER)
1:10-CV-00039
FILED: 1/08/2010

“Hacking” is the unauthorized access of computers. In order to be prosecuted criminally you generally have to damage the computer or business in a very serious way. In order to be sued civilly federal law requires at least $5,000 in economic damages. Some state laws permit prosecution or a civil action with no damages. Unknown to most people is the fact that signing up for a website contrary to the specific provisions of the user agreement can be considered “hacking” and get you in a lot of trouble. Can you legally use an alias or a pseudonym to sign-up for a website when the user agreement requires you to use your real name? It is an unsettled area of law, but as we see in this case, you can certainly be sued for doing so.

The Plaintiff owns and operates a highly successful website where independent writers and publishers can submit original articles on a wide variety of topics in a range of formats. The Defendant is alleged to have obtained unauthorized and fraudulent accounts that gave him access to the Associated Content website. Plaintiff then alleges that Defendant authored a “How To” guide that provides detailed instructions on how to defraud Associated Content.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, federal copyright infringement, federal trademark infringement, federal trademark dilution, and unjust enrichment. Prayer for Relief requests injunctive relief against the Defendant as well as actual damages, exemplary damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1392.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: December 2009 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.

ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. v. JOHN DOES 1-5
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK (FOLEY SQUARE)
1:09-CV-10257
FILED: 12/18/2009

The extent of successful hacking in the US and abroad is underappreciated and unrecognized. For instance, successful cyber attacks have been going on for years and major systems have been penetrated and infiltrated. Every small business should consider obtaining insurance for data loss to cover the profound consequences if hackers get into a system.

Condé Nast Publications publishes almost 20 magazines with international circulation including GQ, Vogue, Wired, and others. The Plaintiff alleges that unknown Defendants have been hacking into their computers and stealing advanced covers, pages, and alternative artwork intended to be used for an upcoming magazine edition. The Defendants are alleged to have then published the property on various online sites.

The lawsuit Plaintiff has filed against Defendant includes claims for copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The Plaintiff requests preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and expenses, investigation expenses, damages, any profits or gain by Defendants in an amount to be determined at trial, statutory damages, and such further and additional relief the Court may deem to be just and proper. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1393.