A dismissed employee sent to himself by email the database of the employer. The employer approached the Labor Court which appointed a receiver to seize the computer, cellular phone and personal G-Mail mailbox of the employee.
The National Labor Court dismissed the motion to appeal and held that a receivership order is an exceptional order granted ex-parte where it is ostensibly proven that a commercial secret has been stolen and there is concern of destruction of evidence. It is necessary to examine whether the purpose of the order may be achieved by alternative means and whether the risk of seizure of excessive and unnecessary private information may be reduced. Here, seizing the private G-Mail account (including seizure of the computer and smart phone of the employee, escorted by a computer investigator and a police force, and including the right to change the Gmail account password to enable the seizure) was duly executed after the employer ostensibly showed larceny of a trade secret.
For full disclosure, the office of Afik & Co., attorneys Doron Afik, Yair Aloni and Shira Porat Zaken, represented the employer.