We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Learn more here.Close Me
In Realpage Inc. v. Enter. Risk
Control, LLC, 2017 BL 102339 (E.D. Tex. 2017), the court
ordered Enterprise Risk Control, LLC ("Enterprise") to
produce forensic images of devices used by a former Realpage
employee to a forensic neutral in order to determine whether any
source code was recoverable pertaining to Realpage's
allegations of misappropriation.
Background
After leaving employment with Realpage in 2012, Tom Bean
("Bean") started his own software development company
named IDC. Bean and IDC were hired by former Realpage employee, and
active Enterprise employee, Lonnie Derden ("Derden") to
design a vendor compliance application that was "completely
different" than the one in place at Realpage. In July 2013,
Enterprise hired Bean as a full-time employee and it was at that
time that Bean transferred all of his source code for the vendor
compliance application from IDC's computers to Enterprise's
computers. According to Bean's affidavit, he deleted all
versions of his source code from IDC's computers after the
transfer.
Pursuant to this lawsuit, Enterprise made the vendor compliance
application source code from July 2013 to the present available to
Realpage for their analysis. During their review, Realpage found
comments in the source code referencing dates from 2012 and early
2013, which Realpage argued indicated that versions of the source
code from that point in time must exist. While the court rejected
this argument, they recognized that Realpage's complaints
surround code that existed on or before the date that Bean
transferred the source code to Enterprise. The court concluded that
"a tailored [forensic] examination is appropriate at this time
to determine whether the missing code is recoverable or to enable
effective cross-examination as to its destruction."
Id. at *2.
Practical Considerations
The court stated that the forensic inspection would be limited
in scope, but there are a number of obstacles and considerations
with the court's Order. Within only seven days of the Order
(March 30, 2017), Enterprise must identify all Enterprise or IDC
computers and storage devices that were used by Bean in July 2013,
have those devices imaged and validated, and have those images
provided to a presumably not-yet-hired forensic neutral. The Order
also required that the forensic neutral complete his
report by April 12, 2017, which would initially consist of
determining whether any of the allegedly deleted source code is
recoverable, and if not, "the forensic examiner may search
more to determine the details of deletions of the particular files
so that Plaintiffs may adequately cross-examine."
Id.
Finally, although Realpage's Reply in support of its motion
appears to contemplate that the forensic neutral would image the
devices in question, the Order requires that Enterprise should
create and produce the forensic images to the neutral. This process
could result in further complications or arguments regarding the
methods used to create the forensic images.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.
Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.
Awilka Alonzo sued Audubon Avenue Housing after she purportedly trip and fell over a metal door saddle in her apartment building's lobby at the 215 Audubon Avenue Housing Development.
New Jersey court rules and statutes prohibit the unauthorized practice of law. While paralegals engage in activities that constitute the "practices of law,"...
Employers began to rethink how they obtain authorization and retrieve background and credit checks for new employees after the Ninth Circuit's decision in Gilberg v. California Check Cashing
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held in Solak v. Welch, No. 2018-0810-KSJM (Del. Ch. Oct. 30, 2019), that a plaintiff's letter to a board of directors suggesting the board look...
On November 22, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the court with jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, handed down a decision that invalidates...
Gain access to Mondaq global archive of over 375,000 articles covering 200 countries with a personalised News Alert and automatic login on this device.