Saudi Activist's Claims Against Alleged Hackers for UAE Government Can Go Forward
From Judge Karin Immergut (D. Or.) yesterday in Alhathloul v. DarkMatter Group:
This case involves allegedly unlawful actions by Defendant DarkMatter Group ("DarkMatter"), a software company based in the United Arab Emirates, and three of its former senior executives, Marc Baier, Ryan Adams, and Daniel Gericke (the "individual Defendants" and, together with DarkMatter, the "Defendants"). Plaintiff Loujain Alhathloul, a prominent Saudi women's rights activist, alleges the Defendants hacked her iPhone, surveilled her movements, and exfiltrated her private data. Plaintiff alleges the hack facilitated her arrest in the United Arab Emirates and rendition to Saudi Arabia, where she alleges she was imprisoned and tortured. Plaintiff alleges all Defendants violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA"), and conspired together and with Emirati officials to violate the CFAA. She also alleges the individual Defendants' actions constitute a crime against humanity actionable under the Alien Tort Statute ("ATS").
This Court concludes Plaintiff's FAC makes a prima facie showing of specific personal jurisdiction over all Defendants. Plaintiff's allegations that Defendants committed an intentional tort while Plaintiff was in the U.S., together with Defendants' other forum-related contacts, establish minimum contacts that arise out of Plaintiff's claims, and Defendants have failed to establish that exercising jurisdiction would be unreasonable. The motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is therefore denied.
This Court also denies Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's CFAA and CFAA conspiracy claims. Finally, this Court declines to recognize Plaintiff's alleged tort of discriminatory persecution under the ATS and accordingly grants the individual Defendants' motion to dismiss that claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction….