A company had a real suspicion that a former employee took trade secrets, immediately prior to his hearing before dismissal. The company moved the Court for an order of receivership of the employee personal G-Mail electronic mailbox at his home, known as "Anton Piller".
The Regional Labor Court ordered the seizure of the private G-Mail account (including seizure of the private computer and smart phone of the employee, escorted by a computer investigator and a police force, and including change of the password of the G-Mail account to enable the seizure) after holding that the company showed existence of a trade secret. Additionally, the Court rejected claims of the employee of violation of privacy, as the employee collaborated with the receiver and raised the arguments only in retrospect. A motion to appeal to the National Labor Court was rejected.
For full disclosure, the office of Afik & Co., attorneys Shira Porat Zaken and Yair Aloni, represented the company.