Metron Aviation, a company accused of hacking emails from the computer of FlyersRights.org founder Kate Hanni, alleges that Hanni made the emails public by forwarding them to a discussion group.
Metron was named with co-defendant Delta in a lawsuit filed by Hanni in a U.S. District Court in Houston. Like Delta, Metron has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Hanni’s filed response maintains what she and her lawyer Jason Gibson have said for weeks – there are more emails that Delta and Metron have not owned up to. Hanni said these emails show that Delta and Metron conspired to hack Hanni’s files and communications to discredit her and her group’s advocacy efforts for an airline passenger bill of rights.
Both Metron and Delta deny any conspiracy. The "relevant" emails, they say, came their way by Hanni herself.
"Metron’s possession of Hanni’s email occurred as a result of Hanni forwarding the relevant correspondence to an aviation-industry email discussion group, whose founding member then forwarded the email to co-defendant, Delta Air Lines, who then forwarded it to Metron," Metron said in a motion filed on Nov. 24.
"Ms. Hanni is proportionately responsible due to her own acts or omissions that caused or contributed to the alleged injury, as she consented or published the email made the subject of this case by forwarding them to … the administrator of the aviation discussion group."
Metron's response echoes Delta's arguments to dismiss the lawsuit, filed Nov. 9.
The lawsuit claims that Delta forwarded the email in question to one of its contractors, Metron, which then used the "hacked" email in an attempt to discredit FlyersRights.
The suit also claims that forwarding the email to Metron resulted in the firing of a Metron employee, Frederick Foreman, who had been analyzing FAA data on delays and passing that information to FlyersRights.org.
The lawsuit asks for $1 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
In interviews last week, Hanni and her attorney acknowledged that she had sent the email referenced by Delta to an email address that turned out to belong to Monique Sears, the administrator of the aviation listserv known as Mifnet.
Sears is also the U.S. director of government and legal affairs for KLM, a Delta codeshare partner.
A listserv is an online service that forwards email to an entire list of subscribers or members simultaneously. It’s a communications tool commonly used by business associations and interest groups.
Hanni said she had forwarded the emails to the listserv because she thought she was being asked to do so by a Mifnet member to help secure a job for Foreman.
"Because plaintiff’s complaint relies upon the incorrect assumption that Delta’s or Metron’s lawful possession of email means that Delta or Metron ‘hacked’ Ms. Hanni’s email account and computer, plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a facially plausible claim for which relief can be granted," Metron said in its response.
"Metron admits that on Sept. 25, it asked Dr. Foreman to explain why he provided Metron’s confidential and proprietary information to an unauthorized party," the company said. "Metron admits that it terminated Dr. Foreman’s employment – in part, because of the disclosure of Metron’s confidential and proprietary information to an unauthorized party."
In her lawsuit, Hanni said Foreman had Metron’s permission trade information with her.
Hanni’s lawyer said the emails forwarded by Hanni represent only a portion of the "thousands" of emails Foreman said Metron showed him when the company fired him.
The rest of the emails, Foreman said, appeared to have been acquired by hacking FlyersRights files.
In its response, Metron denied Hanni’s lawsuit assertion that "Metron executives confronted Foreman with the stolen e-mails and claimed Delta, a client of Metron, was angry about Hanni getting information that would help pass the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights."