Ossian Law P.C.
IT Law Alert November 18, 2014
Employee’s Lawsuit Over Wiped Phone Dismissed: Does a BYOD (bring your own device) employee have a claim against his former employer for “wiping” all data from his cellphone upon his separation from the company? Not according to a recent decision of a Texas-based federal court.
Saman Rajaee worked for Design Tech Homes for a little over a year, using his personal iPhone to conduct business. When Rajaee gave two weeks notice, the company immediately terminated his employment. A few days later, Design Tech remotely wiped his phone, restoring it to its factory settings and deleting all data, including family and business contacts, personal photos and videos and passwords.
Rajaee filed a lawsuit against Design Tech over the loss of his personal data. The court dismissed the federal claims, determining, among other things, that Rajaee could not satisfy the $5000 loss threshold of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The court also dismissed the claims alleging violation of Texas law, but Rajaee is still free to bring them in state court. Review the court’s decision here.