In a decision with implications that extend beyond bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi refused to order an email service provider to turn over the contents of a private email account after the owner of the account evaded service and failed to comply with several discovery orders.
In In re Irish Bank Resolution (In Special Liquidation), Case No. 13-12159 (CSS) (Bankr. D. Del. Nov. 7), Sontchi found that the foreign representatives in a Chapter 15 proceeding (akin to trustees in a Chapter 7 proceeding) failed to meet their burden of proof under the turnover provisions of the Bankruptcy Code that the contents of a Yahoo email account were part of the debtor’s property or related to the debtor’s property or financial affairs. Sontchi also held that the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) prohibits compelling an email service provider such as Yahoo to disclose electronically stored information based on a theory of imputed consent or by designating a third-party as the “subscriber.”
