Law Blog 2.0

The Ninth Circuit rejected an employer’s argument that a former employee violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, when he emailed company client lists and financial data to himself for personal use. LVRC Holdings LLC v. Brekka, ___ F.3d ___, 2009 WL 2928952 (9th Cir. 2009). Superficially this decision is at odds with another decision in the Seventh Circuit. The employer in LVRC Holding based its theory on the 7th Circuit’s application of agency law as a basis for finding liability under the CFAA. However, the 9th Circuit decision seems sound and consistent with avoiding turning the CFAA into a catchall basis for finding criminal and/or civil liability in the absence of other relevant legal authority. While I disagree with the reasoning of the 7th Circuits decision, I believe justice was served in both cases, and the 9th Circuit laid out a logically more stable basis for assessing liability under the [...]