On July 26, 2021, the U.S.D.C. for the Middle District of Florida, granted ADP, Inc.’s (“ADP”) motion for a more definite statement, dismissing Plaintiff’s CFAA claim. See Opinion and Order at the bottom.
Plaintiff sued both Defendants (ADP and Automatic Data Processing, Inc.) for twelve different claims. However, this blog post narrowly addresses only the CFAA claim. According to Plaintiff, his former employer (ADP) , hacked into his electronic devices to take his information, including communications with his lawyers. According to Plaintiff, ADP also allegedly accessed Plaintiff’s Apple accounts, ID, iCloud, and applications (collectively, “Accounts”).
A CFAA claim has four elements: (1) a defendant intentionally accessed a protected computer; (2) without authorization or exceeding authorized access; and the defendant (3) thereby obtained information; and (4) the plaintiff suffered damage or loss of at least $5,000.
ADP took the position that Plaintiff’s various Accounts were unprotected devices under the CFAA. The district court agreed. Where relevant, a “protected computer” is “a computer…which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication.” 18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(2)(B). And a computer is “an electronic…or other high speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device.” § 1030(e)(1). The district court held hat definition might encompass Plaintiff’s laptop, iPhone, and iPad (collectively, “Devices”). However, Plaintiff provided no authority to support reading CFAA as somehow protecting the Accounts.
Even so, Plaintiff did allege at least some of the Devices were intentionally accessed. But like ADP argued, it’s unclear which Devices were hacked. The district court believed this was notable here when the parties disagreed as to whether Plaintiff should even have certain Devices. The district court ultimately granted the motion for more definite statement given the pleading of Accounts as protected computers and the uncertainty on specific Devices in dispute.