Wilson v. Slatalla

• Decision Date: 18 June 1997
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 95-8039.
• Citation: Wilson v. Slatalla, 970 F.Supp. 405 (E.D. Pa. 1997)
• Parties: Allen WILSON v. Michelle SLATALLA, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

970 F.Supp. 405

Allen WILSON v.Michelle SLATALLA, et al.

Civil Action No. 95-8039.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

June 18, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Marc I. Rickles, Kardos, Rickles, Sellers & Heley, Newtown, PA, for plaintiff.

Marc J. Zucker, Mann, Ungar, Spector, Labovitz, P.C., Philadelphia, PA, Slade Rich Metcalf, New York City, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

RUETER, United States Magistrate Judge.

Presently before the court are defendants' motion for summary judgment and plaintiff's response thereto.For the reasons that follow, this court orders that defendants' motion for summary judgment be granted in part and denied in part.

Plaintiff, Allen Wilson, filed this claim against defendantsMichelle Slatalla, Joshua Quittner, and HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.In his Complaint, plaintiff alleges that defendants Slatalla and Quittner made a number of defamatory statements about him in a nonfiction book entitled Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace(the "Book"),¹ which they co-authored.(Complaint, at Counts I and II).Plaintiff further avers that defendant HarperCollins defamed him by publishing and distributing the Book.(Complaint, at Counts III and IV).Defendants moved for summary judgment in this matter, with affidavits and exhibits in support thereof, claiming that the statements in the Book concerning the plaintiff are not capable of defaming plaintiff, are not defamatory because they are substantially true, and, even if defamatory, some of the statements are covered by the fair report privilege.(DocumentNo. 14).For the reasons that follow, defendants' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I.BACKGROUND

A.Facts

Plaintiff is a domiciliary and resident of Pennsylvania.(Complaint, at ¶ 2).Defendants Slatalla and Quittner are residents of New York and defendant HarperCollins is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in New York.(Complaint, at ¶¶ 3-5).In January 1995, defendant HarperCollins published the Book which relates the story of a group of computer hackers, of which plaintiff was a member, who called themselves the Masters of Deception, or MOD (hereinafter "MOD").(Def. Mem. Summ. J., at 2).Throughout his affiliation with MOD, plaintiff was known by the handle "The Wing."(Wilson Depo., at 81).Members of MOD, including plaintiff, on numerous occasions, used their computer skills to gain unauthorized access to private computer systems.(QuittnerAff., at ¶ 8;Wilson Depo., at 94-95).Federal authorities investigated the activities of MOD and ultimately five members of the group were indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for various crimes involving the illegal use of computers.(QuittnerAff., at ¶ 9).Plaintiff was not prosecuted in the case, but was deemed an unindicted co-conspirator.Id.Plaintiff cooperated with the government in connection with the prosecution of the indicted co-conspirators.Id.

Plaintiff claims that the Book severely tarnished his reputation.Although he is not one of the main characters of the Book, plaintiff is referenced on numerous occasions throughout the Book in connection with the activities of MOD and its members.The alleged defamatory statements relate to plaintiff's participation in the computer-related activities of the group, and the government investigation of plaintiff's involvement in the group.(Pl. Resp., at 2).

B.The Alleged Defamatory Statements

In his Complaint, plaintiff alleged that the following passages were defamatory in nature.(Complaint, at ¶ 13).For organizational purposes, the court will utilize the defendants' categorization of these statements.

1.Statements Relating to the Eye Center Computer ("PassageNo. 1")

The "worthwhile project" that Paul and Allen had undertaken was this: they were invading a private computer and programming it to find long-distance calling card numbers.It seemed victimless to them.They needed the numbers to fund calls to further their education.Who was being hurt?Not the person whose calling card number got used, because that person would dispute the bill and never have to pay.Not the phone company, because the filched phone calls emanated from a reservoir of limitless capacity.It was like riding the rails.The trains were running anyway, and a hobo wouldn't displace any cargo in the boxcar.

This is how the hack worked.Allen procured the phone number for a computer in the back room of the Eye Center, which stores and updates computer records.And if you must know, it's where he gets his glasses.Paul doesn't ask Allen how he got the number.

(pp. 73-74).

* * *

Paul and Allen needed calling card numbers because they did a lot of long-distance dialing.To each other, for starters.A call from Queens to Pennsylvania is a long-distance call, and who can afford that twice a night?They called out-of-state bulletin boards as well.

This went on for months, through the summer and fall of 1989.Paul and Allen shared their "side-benefits" with Eli and other friends.In all, the Eye Center computer found about 150 valid calling card numbers.That was a lot of free long-distance calls you could make.That was thousands of dollars' worth of service that ITT wouldn't collect a penny for.The boys in MOD didn't stop to think about it, really, but there were people who might say this was more than just a prank.

The Eye Center hack got so sophisticated that the boys rigged Allen's computer to dial Eli's beeper with each new ITT number.

(pp. 74-75).

2.Statements Relating to the Crash of the Learning Link Computer ("PassageNo.2")

A day or so later, Allen and Eli have a three-way phone call with Paul at college.They tell him what happened.

Paul feels kind of sick.For some reason Paul can't figure out, Allen and Eli are laughing about it.Even Paul laughs a little bit at first, although he can't explain why.But it makes him uneasy.

(p. 96).

3.Statements Relating to the January, 1990 Searches of MOD Members' Homes ("PassageNo. 3")

Days later they had gone to meet The Wing, which wasn't able to talk for too long since he was too busy.He had been anticipating this little visit for a while, though.His dad didn't exactly like the idea of their presence and kicked their lack-of-warrant asses out before they got a chance to put to use their years of interrogation techniques classes.Seems they think he showed his teacher a credit report or something....

(p. 122).

4.Statements Relating to the 2600 Meeting and the Tower Book Store Incident ("PassageNo. 4")

It's the first Friday of the month, and most of the MOD boys are at the 2600 meeting.Allen's here, visiting for a few days....Suddenly, the hackers rush the pay phones in Citicorp, and in each little carrel, they launch a mass attack.Everyone dials the same Texas phone number: Comsec's 800 line.

(p. 161).

* * *

After eating, the boys wander across Third Avenue to Tower Books, where they flip through the endless shelves of hardcovers.Allen sees a phone receiver hanging on the wall and starts fiddling.It's the store's internal intercom system, and it can't make calls outside the building.But with a device he happens to carry, Allen coaxes a dial tone out of the receiver and immediately places a call to a friend in Pennsylvania.The device he uses is a tone dialer, which emits a noise that simulates the sound a pay phone would recognize as coins dropping into a slot.It works like a bird call for computers.It was a pretty good hack, you'd have to admit, until all of a sudden a security guard comes over.He starts hassling them, wondering why some scruffy kid is fooling around with the store's phone.At that point, things take on the flavor of a segment from the Keystone Kops.Hackers scramble for the store's exit, more security guards appear from nowhere, and Allen is right in the middle of it.Then another hacker gets this bright idea to spray a Mace-like substance into the air as if it is air freshener.The hackers are pumped now, and they rush out into the New York City night.Nobody gets caught.They have a good laugh about it.

(p. 162).

5.Statements Relating to the Dot-Annoy Computer Program ("PassageNo. 5")

First, log on to Allen's Unix computer.Then leapfrog over to the Apple computer that's hooked up to it.

Next, pick a lamer who deserves a taste of dot-annoy.

Find his name in the database.

Call up the lamer's entry and execute the dot-annoy program.It's easy.This will instruct the Apple computer to follow the simple software program that Allen wrote.

(pp. 162-63).

* * *

The MOD boys could get really cute and add refinements to the torture.One twist is called "Mr. Ed."Invoke Mr. Ed, and Allen's computer would call the target and speak directly to him.Allen's computer, which has audio capability, would blare out, "Hel-l-l-l-o, Wil-l-l-l-l-bur!" over and over.

(p. 164).

6.Statements Relating to Unauthorized Access of Computer Systems of Credit Reporting Services ("PassageNo. 6")

John, Julio, Allen, and Eli have become fascinated by the possibilities of TRWnet for reasons that are different from Mark's.

(p. 185).

* * *

One day on the phone Allen and John talk about whether another friend, named Matt, has gotten a TRW manual to help them.

"Did you talk to Matt?Did you ever find out how to put the delinquencies on?" asks Allen.

(p. 185).

7.Statements Relating to the Wrongful Acquisition of Laptop Computers and E-mail Messages ("PassageNo. 7")

Allen Wilson's two-story, single-family home on Moon Drive in Fallsington, Pennsylvania, was also included.In the search warrant application, the Secret Service told the judge that the MOD boys had said during a phone conversation that Allen had stolen two laptop computers.The Secret Service also told the judge that Allen had told John of stealing electronic...