Professional Documents
Culture Documents
No. 13-1359
No. 13-2098
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District
Judge. (1:12-cv-00374-GBL-JFA)
Submitted:
Decided:
Before MOTZ and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit
Judge.
PER CURIAM:
Lovelen Pyles appeals the district courts orders denying
her motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50 for judgment as a matter of
law and granting attorneys fees in favor of Tech Systems, Inc.
(TSI).
Act,
18
fiduciary duty.
in
instructing
U.S.C.
2701
(2012);
and
her
breach
of
jury
on
punitive
damages
and
in
granting
We affirm.
I.
We review de novo the legal conclusions upon which the
district courts denial of judgment as a matter of law were
premised.
Lack v.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 240 F.3d 255, 259 (4th Cir. 2001).
A.
Although
the
CFAA
is
primarily
criminal
statute,
it
violation
of
the
CFAA . . . .
A.V.
ex
rel.
Vanderhye
v.
The civil
18
at
least
1030(c)(4)(A)(i)(I),
$5,000
(g).
in
value.
person
18
violates
the
U.S.C.
CFAA
by
authorized
from
1030(a)(2)(C),
access,
any
or
and
thereby
obtain[ing] . . .
protected
computer,
intentionally
access[ing]
18
a
U.S.C.
protected
court
narrowly
interprets
the
terms
without
WEC Carolina
Energy Sols. LLC v. Miller, 687 F.3d 199, 206 (4th Cir. 2012).
[A]n employee . . . accesses a computer without authorization
when [s]he gains admission to a computer without approval.
at 204.
Id.
approved
access.
Id.
Notably,
neither
of
these
Id.
Pyles argues that the CFAA did not apply to her actions
during
her
employment
with
TSI
because
she,
as
the
human
Pyles accessed
of
her
account
authorization.
in
losses
employment,
and
Pyles
Additionally, upon
accessed
company-issued
her
corporate
Blackberry
without
from
Pyles
actions.
Thus,
there
was
sufficient
person
violates
the
ECPA
by:
(1)
intentionally
communication
intentionally
exceed[ing]
service
an
is
provided;
authorization
to
or
(2)
access
that
limits
her
ECPA
challenge
18 U.S.C. 2701(a).
to
whether
she
acted
We disagree.
scope,
properly
not
used.
on
whether
See
WEC
information
Carolina,
687
validly
accessed
F.3d
204.
at
was
Here,
although Pyles was permitted to use TSIs email to carry out her
duties as human resources manager, she was not authorized to
access
the
server
through
which
the
functioned
in
the
II.
In Virginia, to establish a breach of fiduciary duty, a
plaintiff
duty,
must
(2) the
resulted
from
show
that
defendant
the
(1) the
breached
breach.
defendant
that
duty,
Informatics
owed
and
fiduciary
(3) damages
Applications
Grp.,
LLC,
576
S.E.2d
752,
757
(Va.
2003).
This
duty
Moreover, termination
S.E.2d
737,
744
(Va.
2006)
(internal
quotation
marks
omitted).
Pyles concedes that she owed TSI a fiduciary duty under
Virginia law.
that
would
give
an
advantage
to
competing
business.
in
disregarding
bad
faith
TSIs
with
interests
confidential
in
accessing
information
the
and
by
server,
III.
Finally,
instructions
Pyles
challenges
allowing
for
the
punitive
district
damages
and
courts
its
jury
award
of
will not consider issues raised for the first time on appeal
absent fundamental error or a denial of fundamental justice.
In re Under Seal, 749 F.3d 276, 285 (4th Cir. 2014) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
Thus,
Id. at 286.
[W]hen a
say
with
confidence
fundamental error.
that
[s]he
has
not
established
Id.
an
error,
(2)
the
error
was
941,
showing,
954
we
(4th
retain
Cir.
and
(3) the
error
2010).
discretion
plain,
(1) there
to
Even
if
Pyles
deny
relief;
makes
plain
this
errors
integrity
or
public
reputation
of
judicial
proceedings.
Id.
(alterations,
citation,
and
internal
party
failed
to
make
court
fundamentally
or
its
most
essential
argument
plainly
erred.
In
re
Under Seal, 749 F.3d at 292; see Makdessi v. Fields, 789 F.3d
126,
132
(4th
Cir.
2015)
(refusing
plain
error
review
where
her
federal
and
state-law
claims
pursuant
to
28
U.S.C.
with
contentions
are
oral
argument
adequately
because
presented
in
the
the
facts
We
and
legal
materials
before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED