Why Two District Courts Dismissed Valid Computer Fraud and Abuse Claims for Lack of Jurisdiction
Two federal district courts, one in Maryland and the other in Texas, dismissed what each court considered to be valid civil claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). Title 18 U.S.C. § 1030. The CFAA is the federal computer crime statute that provides a civil cause of action to “any person who suffers damage [more...]
United States Chess Federation Embroiled in Computer Fraud Prosecution
Last week the federal district court in Northern California downgraded felony Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) counts to misdemeanors against Gregory Alexander who is charged with accessing “on thirty-four separate occasions . . . without authorization, the Yahoo! email account of Randall Hough, one of the board members of the United States Chess Federation [more...]
Conn. District Court Refuses to Dismiss Computer Fraud and Abuse Claims Against Ex-Employee
Without referencing the conflicting positions between LVRC Holdings LLC v. Brekka, 581 F.3d 1127, 1130-31 (9th Cir. 2009) and Int’l Airport Centers LLC v. Citrin, 440 F.3d 418, 420 (7th Cir.2006) a Connecticut federal district court refused to dismiss Computer Fraud and Abuse claims brought by an employer against an ex-employee. In Monson v. The [more...]
DC and Iowa District Courts Take Opposing Views as to Whether Employees Are Liable Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
In American Family Mutual Insurance Co. v. Hollander, 2010 WL 2851639 *1 (N.D. Iowa, July 20, 2010) the court denied the defendant employee’s motion for summary judgment on the Computer Fraud and Abuse (“CFAA”) claim. The plaintiff claimed Hollander, “anticipating terminating his relationship with plaintiff, accessed and used plaintiff’s computer database to aid himself in [more...]
California Court Grants Summary Judgment to Cisco Systems on Computer Fraud and Abuse Claim, Holding that Brekka Does Not Apply to Ex-Employees
Last week a federal district court in California granted Cisco Systems, Inc. summary judgment on its Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) claim against an ex-employee who “on multiple occasions and without authorization, . . . used a Cisco employee’s password to gain access to Cisco’s computer systems and download Cisco’s proprietary and copyrighted software.” [more...]
Two District Courts in the Second Circuit Follow Brekka To Dismiss Computer Fraud and Abuse Claims against Employees
Last week two federal district courts, one in Connecticut and the other in Manhattan, followed LVRC Holdings LLC v. Brekka, 581 F.3d 1127, 1130-31 (9th Cir. 2009) in dismissing Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) claims brought against employees who stole company data. In neither case did the plaintiff company employer rely on company computer [more...]
