IM going after current and former employees:
crn.com
Ingram Micro Wants At Least $50,000 In Yahoo Message Board Flap
By Mike Cruz, CRN
Santa Ana, Calif.
1:45 PM EST Wed., Nov. 15, 2000
Ingram Micro "suffered consequential harm" and lost profit because of critical information posted about the company on a bulletin board, the distributor alleges in a lawsuit against a group of Yahoo message board users.
The distributor is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from the users, presumably Ingram Micro employees, according to court documents filed in Orange County, Calif., Superior Court.
The distributor, based here, filed a complaint in August to force Yahoo and a group of ISPs, including America Online, Earthlink Network and MSN Internet Access, to reveal the identities of 50 Internet users.
Ingram Micro alleges the users' postings included "proprietary and confidential" information about the company and constitute harassment in some instances, say court records.
The defendants, using pseudonyms such as "ingramsucks" and "IngramTerrorist," are current or former employees, Ingram Micro alleges. The defendants "violated employment agreements and Ingram employee policies," the company says.
According to court documents, a user identified as "The Straight Truth" wrote, "[Jerre Stead's] Buick was not good enough for Kent [Foster], so he had the company lease him a Cadillac. Kent did not approve of the company apartment in Corona Del Mar."
Other postings from The Straight Truth included in the lawsuit are:
* "The systems group will continue to lose money until Ingram totally changes the T's & C's for those vendors," which was written May 23.
* "Jim Harr is a general manager, give me a break. Jim couldn't manage his way out of a paper bag."
Postings also cite employees "sleeping with" and "sucking face" with managers to get better positions. Other postings are critical of employees' management, people and communication skills.
In addition to monetary damages, the company also wants the defendants "restrained from further wrongful conduct" because money alone "will not fully or adequately recompense Ingram for the harm it has incurred," say court records.
Although Ingram Micro does not know the users' identities, company executives believe the defendants are Orange County, Calif., residents.
The distributor says the postings "injure Ingram's business reputation and good will in the relevant industry, and consequently reduce its market share." Ingram Micro also alleges the postings occurred during work hours and violate the company's Chat Room Policy, say the court documents.
Employees "must refrain from discussing or referring to confidential or proprietary
information," and cannot post anything that is "inconsistent with company values,"
according to Ingram Micro's Chat Room Policy. |
