Pure Power Boot Camp v. Warrior Fitness Boot Camp

In Pure Power Boot Camp v. Warrior Fitness Boot Camp, 587 F Supp 2d 548 (SD NY 2008), the employer directly accessed the former employee's personal Hotmail accounts by using the employee's user name and password that he had stored on his work computer and had allegedly given to another former co-worker. In discussing the SCA the court explained that "the Act 'aims to prevent hackers from obtaining, altering or destroying certain stored electronic communications.'" (Id. at 555.) The court further explained that the majority of courts that have addressed the issue of electronic storage have determined that "e-mail stored on an electronic communication service provider's systems after it has been delivered, as opposed to e-mail stored on a personal computer, is a stored communication subject to the SCA." (Id.) The court stated: "It is important to note from the outset, that this is not a situation in which an employer is attempting to use e-mails obtained from the employer's own computers or systems. Rather, the e-mails at issue here were stored and accessed directly from accounts maintained by outside electronic communication service providers." (Id. at 554.)