CHAPTER 10 Modern Case Analysis Shaping Litigation
Matthew P. Breuer and James P. Martin
As the deployment of cloud computing solutions has become more prevalent in today’s society, courts have struggled with the application of the Fourth Amendment and federal statutes such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and Title II of the ECPA, the Stored Communications Act (SCA). Issues pertaining to the production of electronic communications in discovery have been ripe for litigation, especially when dealing with data stored by a third-party service provider, as is the case when a cloud solution is utilized. However, the treatment of cloud computing–related issues in court has not been entirely consistent, and further legislation may be necessary to bring clarity in litigation. As one court noted, “In light of rapid changes in computing technology since the enactment of the SCA, courts have struggled to analyze problems involving modern technology within the confines of this statutory framework, often with unsatisfactory results.”1
O’Grady v. Superior Court, 139 Cal.App.4th 1423 (2006)
Apple Computer, Inc. filed an action against a group of unidentified individuals for wrongful publication of trade secret information regarding an unreleased Apple product. Petitioner O’Grady owned and operated O’Grady’s PowerPage, an online news magazine covering news and information about Apple computers. PowerPage and another online news source published information regarding the ...