Thompson

Case 1:08-cv-08606-DLC

Document 1

Filed 10/08/2008

COTE SHEPPARD , MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP V8

CW

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8606'

Daniel L. Brown (DB 0906) 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 2400 New York , New York 10112 Telephone : 212-332-3800 Facsimile : 212-332-3888 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------x THOMPSON HOTELS, LLC,

Civil Action No.

Plaintiff, -againstJOHN DOE (a/k/a marisacortesnaxocketmail.com or marissacortesarocketmail.com),

OCT b.. ^ 2018

Defendant.

U. Q1 ' - ^'r^' N`Y° CASHIEIMS

------------------------------------------------------x COMPLAINT Plaintiff, Thompson Hotels, LLC, by its attorneys, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, as and for its Complaint against defendant, John Doe, alleges as follows:

INTRODUCTION 1.

In this civil action, brought pursuant to the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse

Act, Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030, plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, injunctive relief, and all other appropriate relief to which it is entitled under law as a result of defendant's unlawful and unauthorized access of plaintiffs computer systems and misuse of unlawfully obtained information stored therein.

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PARTIES 2.

Plaintiff Thompson Hotels LLC ("Thompson" or "plaintiff'), is a Delaware

limited liability company, with it principal place of business at 100 Van Dam Street, New York, New York, 10013. 3.

The identity, true name, and capacity of the defendant is unknown to plaintiff at

this time. As explained herein, as a result of defendant's clandestine actions, defendant is known to plaintiff only by the e-mail address marisacortes(-,rocketmail.com or marissacortesaD,rocketmail.com. Upon information and belief, the Internet Protocol address assigned to at least one of these emails was 76.13.13.68 and originated from the e-mail address marisacortes(o)rocketmail.com, issued by Yahoo! in or near Sunnyvale, California. Plaintiff believes that information obtained in discovery will lead to the identification of defendant's true name and identity.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE 4.

This action is brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et sea.

5.

Federal jurisdiction is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, because this case

arises under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et sea. 6.

Venue in this Judicial District is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Although the

true identity of defendant is unknown to plaintiff at this time, defendant, upon information and belief, may be found in this District, and/or a substantial part of the acts complained of herein occurred in this District. Upon information and belief, personal jurisdiction in this District is also proper because defendant used the Internet to gain access to plaintiffs computer systems, and such access occurred in every jurisdiction in the United States, including this District.

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FACTS 7.

Plaintiff is a branded hotel management company which manages hotels in,

among other places, New York; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles. 8.

Plaintiff maintains confidential email accounts for all of its employees, which are

protected from unauthorized access by a password. 9.

Upon information and belief, on or prior to September 29, 2008, defendant,

without authorization, obtained access to the Thompson email system through the account of one or more Thompson employees. Thereafter, defendant forwarded personal and sensitive emails from that account to marissacortes(a7rocketmail.com, an account that defendant created, and which was created to impersonate the identity of an actual Thompson employee named Marissa Cortes. 11.

Upon information and belief, defendant then deleted any trace of the email that

was sent from the Thompson email account to marissacortes(&,,rocketmail.com. 12.

Despite substantial effort and expense to date, plaintiff has been unable to

determine what, if any, additional information was (i) accessed without authorization and/or (ii) deleted. These efforts continue. 13.

On or about September 30, 2008, defendant sent an email to one of the principals

of Thompson from the email address marisacortesarocketmail.com, an account that defendant created, and in which defendant again impersonated an actual Thompson employee. That email taunted plaintiff about defendant's receipt of the unauthorized information, attempted to embarrass key employees of Thompson, and contained an implied threat to further disseminate the stolen emails to the public to the detriment of Thompson. Indeed, in an attempt to embarrass Thompson, defendant sent the material it stole from Thompson to at least one third party.

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Upon information and belief, the threatening email sent from

marisacortes(a),rocketmail.com to plaintiff was sent from the IP address 76.13.13.68. This IP address was traced to Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, California. 15.

Upon information and belief, defendant maintains continued unlawful access to

plaintiffs email server and accounts and/or is in a position to continue to misuse information unlawfully obtained from plaintiff, including interfering with and damaging plaintiffs business reputation.

CLAIM FOR RELIEF FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION

VIOLATION OF THE COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT (18 U.S.C. & 1030) 16.

Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges each and every allegation contained in paragraphs

1 through 15 of the Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 17.

Plaintiffs computers are connected to the Internet and used in interstate

commerce and communication.

18.

Plaintiffs computers contain confidential information, and are protected from

unauthorized access by passwords. 19.

Defendant intentionally accessed plaintiffs computers without authorization or in

such a way that exceeded authorized access and obtained information from such computers. 20.

Defendant used its unauthorized and unlawful access to plaintiffs computers to

facilitate its misuse of unlawfully obtained information. 21.

Plaintiff has incurred costs in investigating any damage to the computer system

and in continuing to investigate any such damage, as well as the unauthorized access and

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defendant's identity. As a direct and proximate result of defendant's conduct set forth herein, plaintiff has suffered monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but which exceeds the jurisdictional minimum amount of $5,000.00.

RELIEF REQUESTED WHEREFORE , plaintiff Thompson respectfully demands a Judgment as follows: (i)

Permanently enjoining and restraining defendant, its agents, servants, employees,

representatives, and all persons acting in concert or participating with defendant or any one of them, from accessing plaintiffs computer systems;

(ii)

Ordering the return of any of plaintiffs information that defendant unlawfully

obtained; Awarding plaintiff compensatory damages against defendant, including interest

thereon, in amount to be determined at trial; (iv)

Awarding plaintiff such other and further relief as this Court shall deem just and

proper.

JURY DEMAND Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

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Dated : New York, New York October 8, 2008

SHEPPARD , MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP

By iel L. B

(DB 0906)

Min Richter & Hampton LLP hePp 30 R ckefeller Plaza, Suite 2400 New York, New York 10112 Telephone: 212-332-3800 Facsimile : 212-332-3888 Attorneys for Thompson Hotels, LLC

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