Says It Will Be Difficult For Employees To Prove They Were Harmed

A lawyer in Texas writes on his blog that NASA employees will have difficulty proving actual damages in a case stemming from a laptop theft in Washington, D.C. The computer reportedly contained unencrypted personnel data, and at least four employees have retained a California attorney to pursue a class-action lawsuit.

Attorney Phil Griffis writes that an accidental dissemination of personal data, while a breach of trust and an embarrassment, may not be the basis for actual monetary damages. He said that the employees' biggest hurdle will be to prove that they suffered actual harm that can be traced directly to the data that was on the stolen laptop.

In an article appearing in the Pasadena Star-News, the JPL workers' attorney said that the computer was stolen from a parked car in Washington, D.C. on October 31. The four JPL employees had recently participated in a lawsuit over NASA's background checks they considered "invasive."

Griffis writes in his blog that a central question to be asked is "what happened to the computer and the data it contained." He also said that the employees would probably claim negligence and/or invasion of privacy, but given the limited information available about not only the theft but also the whereabouts of the computer, proving actual damages is not a guarantee.

FMI: http://www.nasaclearlakelitigationblog.com/?goback=%2Egde_84160_member_195187918