The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld an extraordinary ruling in favor of Eagle Hospital Physicians in its bitter dispute with a consultant who accessed Eagle’s confidential e-mails.
The ruling Thursday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means Steven R. Gerst and his companies, SRG Consulting and Hospitalist Physicians, must pay Eagle $559,334 in legal fees and $44,000 in damages.
When asked under oath how he did his electronic eavesdropping, Gerst invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The 11th Circuit Thursday agreed Gerst’s misconduct deserved such sanctions. (more)
Eavesdropping detection inspections are economical compared with the value of lost information - in this case, $44,000. Trying to recoup in court is the expensive part - in this case, $559,334. A win like this is unusual. Smarter... add eavesdropping detection audits to your security program to deter snoops in the first place.
