Author Topic: Another School Webcam Lawsuit  (Read 2350 times)

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Offline cmack

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Another School Webcam Lawsuit
« on: December 09, 2011, 06:00:23 PM »
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/08/42077.htm

School Webcam Took Nude Pics, Teen Says
By REUBEN KRAMER


 PHILADELPHIA (CN) - The ritzy Lower Merion School District in suburban Philadelphia was hit Wednesday with yet another lawsuit over secret webcam surveillance of students and their families through school-issued laptops.
     Deposition in another case revealed that the district has photos of the latest plaintiff, Paige Robbins, "in the bathroom, or in the nude, or partially dressed or sleeping or in her bedroom or in a compromised state," according to the complaint.
     District spokesman Doug Young told Courthouse News that the claim is "bizarre," the "epitome of an attempted money-grab and a complete waste of tax dollars."
     Robbins is the sister of the original Webcamgate plaintiff, bringing the total of Webcamgate lawsuits to at least five.
     The school district, among the nation's wealthiest, settled with minor Blake Robbins for $175,000 six months after he filed a February 2010 class action that accused school officials of spying on students by remotely activating the webcams on their school-issued laptops.
     Officials reportedly activated the cameras as a way to combat computer theft or other malfeasance.
     Paige Robbins now claims that the "indiscriminant remote [webcam] activation" while she was a minor-student at Harriton High School in Rosemont, Pa., caused her to be captured "in compromising or embarrassing positions, including, but not limited to, in various stages of dress or undress."
     But the district says that the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies found no such photos after poring over "terabytes and terabytes of data" in an "exhaustive" probe.
     Robbins says she first learned that she ended up on webcam candid camera as lawyers deposed a vice principal while litigating her brother Blake's case in April 2010.
     The district disputes Robbins' characterization of the deposition, saying the excerpts "have been edited to omit key words."
     "A thorough, exhaustive investigation - under supervision of the United States District Judge Jan DuBois, the FBI, and the United States Attorney - determined that no one ever saw a compromising image of Ms. Robbins or anyone else," Young said in a statement, referring to the judge who presided over Blake Robbins' case. "Indeed, the investigation did not recover any images of Ms. Robbins."
     "That was one of the reasons they dropped the criminal investigation," Young told Courthouse News in an interview.
     "It should also be noted that this complaint comes nearly two years after the original case was filed," according to Young's statement. "It appears Ms. Robbins simply waited to turn 18 so she could attempt to obtain a payout of her own from LMSD [Lower Merion School District] taxpayers. The district will vigorously defend its position and the taxpayers of this community."
     As of late August, the district had spent more than $1.6 million litigating the scandal, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
     Paige Robbins sued the Lower Merion School District, its board of directors and Superintendent Christopher McGinley, alleging invasion of privacy and violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, federal civil rights law and Pennsylvania wiretapping law.
     She is represented by Mary Bogan in Philadelphia. Bogan was not available for immediate comment on the lawsuit.

Links to other articles regarding the same story:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ ... me_by_sis/

http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-08/n ... l-district
« Last Edit: December 09, 2011, 06:52:13 PM by cmack »

Offline Ursus

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Re: New School Webcam Lawsuit
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2011, 06:28:15 PM »
Thread title is a bit misleading, perhaps? Name of school is not "New School," nor is this necessarily a "new lawsuit." Rather, it is an additional lawsuit, intrinsically connected to the other four (or more) lawsuits this school district has already been sacked with...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline cmack

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Re: New School Webcam Lawsuit
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2011, 06:53:12 PM »
Quote from: "Ursus"
Thread title is a bit misleading, perhaps? Name of school is not "New School," nor is this necessarily a "new lawsuit." Rather, it is an additional lawsuit, intrinsically connected to the other four (or more) lawsuits this school district has already been sacked with...

You're right. I changed the thread title. It was a little misleading.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2012, 11:03:24 AM by cmack »

Offline Ursus

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Re: New School Webcam Lawsuit
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2011, 07:12:29 PM »
Quote from: "cmack"
Quote from: "Ursus"
Thread title is a bit misleading, perhaps? Name of school is not "New School," nor is this necessarily a "new lawsuit." Rather, it is an additional lawsuit, intrinsically connected to the other four (or more) lawsuits this school district has already been sacked with...
Your right. I changed the thread title. It was a little misleading.
And you're especially gracious and accommodating to a cranky ol' bear! Thank you!  :hug:

(Seriously, I wouldn't have blamed ya for ignoring me...)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline cum guzzler

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« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2011, 10:36:50 PM »
.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 12:14:03 PM by cum guzzler »

Offline Ursus

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Laptop Lawsuit Redux: Robbins Family Sues School Dist. Again
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2011, 10:38:39 PM »
Narbeth-BalaCynwyd Patch
Laptop Lawsuit Redux: Robbins Family Sues School District Again

This time the plaintiff is Blake Robbins' sister, Paige.

By Thomas J. Walsh | December 8, 2011



Charging that she was remotely monitored while naked or partially dressed, another webcam lawsuit has been filed against the Lower Merion School District—this time by Paige Robbins, 18, the sister of Harriton High School student Blake Robbins, who sued the district two years ago for invasion of privacy and other charges, eventually accepting a $175,000 settlement.

The Lower Merion School District (LMSD) fired back immediately Thursday, saying it appeared Paige Robbins purposefully waited until she turned 18 to file the suit as an adult, to win a separate payday of her own.

The suit (attached in PDF form) also names LMSD’s Board of Directors and Superintendent of Schools Christopher W. McGinley as defendants. The list of charges is similar to those made on behalf of Blake Robbins, a case which garnered national attention.

In a filing in U.S. District Court, Paige Robbins' lawyer, Mary Elizabeth Bogan, asserts that, according to a 2010 deposition given by Lindy Matsko, Harriton's assistant vice principal, the school district "remotely accessed the webcam feature on the laptop issued to the Plaintiff while she was in the bathroom, or in the nude, or partially dressed or sleeping or in her bedroom in a compromised state."

In a statement Thursday, the LMSD reacted with outrage to what they call "the epitome of an attempted money-grab and a complete waste of tax dollars."

The seven-count lawsuit accuses the defendants of interception of electronic communication under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act; theft of intellectual property under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; invasion of privacy (state and federal laws); and violations of the Stored Communications Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act.

LMSD, in its statement, contends that the complaint is "deceptive and misleading, relying on excerpts from a deposition transcript that have been edited to omit key words. A full reading of the complete excerpts—which are included as an attachment to the Complaint—makes this quite clear."

"A thorough, exhaustive investigation—under supervision of the United States District Judge Jan DuBois, the FBI, and the United States Attorney—determined that no one ever saw a compromising image of Ms. Robbins or anyone else," the LMSD statement reads. "Indeed, the investigation did not recover any images of Ms. Robbins.

"It should also be noted that this complaint comes nearly two years after the original case was filed. It appears Ms. Robbins simply waited to turn 18 so she could attempt to obtain a payout of her own from LMSD taxpayers. The District will vigorously defend its position and the taxpayers of this community."

Patch will update this story as more details become available.


Copyright © 2011 Patch.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline Ursus

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Comments: "Laptop Lawsuit Redux: Robbins Family Sues School.
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2011, 11:28:08 PM »
Phew! I think my eyebrows got a lil singed here...

Comments left for the above article, "Laptop Lawsuit Redux: Robbins Family Sues School District Again" (by Thomas J. Walsh; December 8, 2011; Narbeth-BalaCynwyd Patch):


Sean Rose 6:39 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
    Maybe the family can explain why they conveniently waited to file suit until Page was 18? Sure seems obvious.
michael 7:36 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
    Just a very greedy family. Fake body parts and all.
LM parent 8:13 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
    You are right, Anna, from the other patch article written regarding this Robbins family. They ARE a joke.


Copyright © 2011 Patch.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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