Rudolph Clarke Attorney Wins Jurisdiction Dispute in Alleged Computer Hacking Case

Rudolph Clarke attorneys successfully defended the Pennsylvania judicial system’s right to hear an alleged computer hacking case involving a defendant who lives out of state.

On February 18, 2014, Rudolph Clarke initiated a civil action against a man who lives in Texas on behalf of their client, a Bucks County resident. Their client, a pilot for Trans World Airlines Inc., which later became American Airlines, alleges that the defendant, a “native” American Airlines pilot, hacked into her private server in her Bucks County home and, without her authorization, downloaded more than 130 messages shared by other TWA pilots on a private message board.

Rudolph Clarke, on behalf of their client, is seeking actual damages, as well as punitive damages and attorney fees stemming from the following counts: Trespass of Chattel; Conversion; Intrusion Upon Seclusion; and Violation of the Pennsylvania Wiretapping Act.

The defendant objected to the Complaint, claiming that Pennsylvania lacked personal jurisdiction over him because he lives in Texas. Rudolph Clarke attorneys filed a response in opposition and accompanying memorandum of law, successfully arguing that jurisdiction in Pennsylvania was appropriate under the state’s long-arm statute.

Rudolph Clarke attorneys delivered an oral argument on the preliminary objections in front of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas on November 13, 2014, arguing that the litigation should remain in Pennsylvania. On November 14, 2014, the Court issued an Order, overruling the defendant’s preliminary jurisdiction objections, allowing the case to proceed in Pennsylvania.