E-mail disaster

[Zigner]

Curious,

What do people think is the potential downside of the OP doing nothing at all?

I had similar thoughts - the OP could simply delete the emails (without reading them) and move on with his life...

 

[Dean Bishop]

The latest:
I've paid a retainer and got an appointment to talk to a lawyer in a phone consultation in the AM. I have been in touch with the ISP and informed them their almost frenzied attempts to reach me put me on high alert and I contacted a lawyer. He was cool with that, which makes me feel considerably better. I reassured them I have no intentions of anybody but the right people getting the mail and that for better or worse they've run afoul of an honest man. That made them feel better.

Its not all rainbows and unicorns yet, but its moving that way.

 

[quincy]

Curious,

What do people think is the potential downside of the OP doing nothing at all?

The downside to doing nothing? There may be no downside for Dean Bishop at all. He is the victim of the ISP's carelessness/incompetence/whatever by being put in possession of emails not intended for him. The downsides appear to be mostly for the ISP.

Generally when you receive in error any personal mail (email or letter), the best thing to do is to forward it unopened to the intended recipient. Obviously with 4000 emails received in error, this is not a burden that should be placed on Dean. Deleting the messages would not be illegal (from what I can determine), but I am not sure that is the best solution. And letting the ISP retrieve and redeliver all the messages is something that can be considered - but the ISP perhaps should be held accountable in some way for this error. The contents of the emails could, afterall, contain personal identifying data or confidential information that an identity thief or other crook would love to have (this even though email privacy is weak in the US and people are advised not to send private or confidential information by email).

The bottom line is that the ISP goofed by sending a massive amount of emails to someone other than the intended recipients. The result of this goof will probably not turn out to be a disaster for the ISP, but that is only because Dean seems uninterested in profiting from their error and instead seems interested in working with them to correct it.

But I still think an attorney's review can be important - mostly because I am not sure what all of the ramifications might be for Dean, or what they should be for the ISP. Maybe all will turn out to be rainbows and unicorns.

 

[Dean Bishop]

I feel considerably better after talking to a guy specializing in Internet law this morning. Its as you laid it out, Quincy. The onus is on the ISP. He advised me to have a check from them for compensation for legal fees and my time in my hand before releasing the mail; after I hand them over and delete from from the server and my laptop I no longer have any leverage. He also wanted to to get them to sign a document holding me harmless. And of course anything they want me to sign should be read by him first. I gave the ISP his contact information and their lawyer and my guy are doing the dance now. He's pretty busy today (I like that. I want the busy guy.) but we should be able to put this to bed before the weekend is done.

My next post may well be, "What emails?"

 

[quincy]

I feel considerably better after talking to a guy specializing in Internet law this morning. Its as you laid it out, Quincy. The onus is on the ISP. He advised me to have a check from them for compensation for legal fees and my time in my hand before releasing the mail; after I hand them over and delete from from the server and my laptop I no longer have any leverage. He also wanted to to get them to sign a document holding me harmless. And of course anything they want me to sign should be read by him first. I gave the ISP his contact information and their lawyer and my guy are doing the dance now. He's pretty busy today (I like that. I want the busy guy.) but we should be able to put this to bed before the weekend is done.

My next post may well be, "What emails?"

I am glad you were able to speak with an attorney specializing in internet law today, Dean, and that the attorney will be handling all future dealings with the ISP for you.

The advice the attorney provided you is sound.

Good luck.

 

[Dean Bishop]

My attorney suggested I ask for compensation for ten hours of my time at $50 an hour plus his fee.

I must remember to clean my laptop. I expect someone might remind me to do that if they've found what they're looking for.

Thanks again, Quincy and all those who pitched in advice in a circumstance so bizarre and unique. I hope you found it interesting and possibly useful.

 

[quincy]

My attorney suggested I ask for compensation for ten hours of my time at $50 an hour plus his fee.

I must remember to clean my laptop. I expect someone might remind me to do that if they've found what they're looking for.

Thanks again, Quincy and all those who pitched in advice in a circumstance so bizarre and unique. I hope you found it interesting and possibly useful.

The suggestion made by your attorney, to ask the ISP for compensation for your time and for your attorney fees, sounds reasonable. I would be surprised if the ISP does not agree to do this.

Although I am not sure others will find themselves in quite the same situation you were placed in by your ISP, what happened to you is an indication that problems still surface on the internet that have not been fully addressed by laws (email privacy) and that will eventually require clarification from the courts (liability of ISP or recipient when private emails are misdelivered).

We all appreciate the thanks, Dean. Good luck.