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The following is not meant to be legal advice.

On March 22, 2007, the New York Court of Appeals applied the common-law doctrine of conversion to theft of electronic documents in Thyroff v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. The Court wrote electronic documents should be treated any differently from production by pen on paper.

The case concerned an insurance company’s decision to terminate a contract with one of its agents. The plaintiff argued the defendant took possession of equipment, along with information stored on the machine, when terminated. The information included personal correspondence and client files that the plaintiff said were necessary to his career.

In the case, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), enacted in 1984, was a point of discussion in an issue on conversion.  The act protects information stored on government and financial institution computers.  The employer may make claims under the act if it shows that the employee either fraudulently or intentionally accessed information without authorization, and that damages of at least $5,000 resulted.