This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order. [Docket No. 6] The Court heard oral argument on October 17, 2013. The Court denied the motion in an October 17 Order [Docket No. 40] with a memorandum of law to follow. Accordingly, the Court hereby enters the following Memorandum of Law.
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The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act "provides that one who suffers `damage or loss' because of a violation of the Act may bring a civil action for compensatory damages and injunctive relief." Mclean v. Mortgage One & Finance Corp., No. Civ.04-1158(PAM/JSM), 2004 WL 898440, at *2 (D. Minn. Apr. 9, 2004). A civil action may be brought by a person who suffers damage or loss of at least $5,000 by reason of a person's violation of the act by knowingly and with intent to defraud, accessing protected computers without authorization or in excess of his authorization and obtaining something of value of more than $5,000 in any 1-year period. 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(4); (c)(4)(A)(i), (g).
Menzies claims that Wilcox intentionally accessed Menzies' protected computer database and sent himself large amounts of confidential data in order to allow Servisair to unfairly compete with Menzies. The Court holds that, based on the record before it, assuming without deciding that Wilcox did engage in unauthorized access, Menzies is unlikely to be able to show that Wilcox caused any damages, let alone $5,000 in damages. The evidence in the record is that Sun Country switched from Menzies to Servisair based on reasons wholly unrelated to Wilcox and any information he may or may not have forwarded to himself.
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