Can I sue someone for deleting files from my online storage?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can I sue someone for deleting files from my online storage?
I was let go from my previous employer several months ago and one employee who is in charge of computers wnet into my Google
Drive and deleted several of my personal files and some of my back-ups of work that I did as a graphic designer.
Asked on March 1, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Utah
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If that was your employer's Google drive, then no: they had the write to control, delete, etc. anything on it.
If it was your personal drive, then yes, but you can only recover the actual cost/monetary value of the files, not for the inconvenience, not for the time it took you to create them, etc. So unless you either 1) paid for the files (in which case you can recover that cost) or 2) created them for other clients and have not yet been paid for them, so you can recover what you'd would have been paid, had you been able to complete and provide the work, there is nothing you can effectively sue for. Again, time and inconvenience, with a direct monetary value, are not compensible.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.