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The California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District has ruled that where an employee sends tortuous e-mail transmissions to a third party, the corporate employer providing the email and Internet access is not liable for damages under the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Delfino v. Agilent Technologies Inc., No. 1-03-cv-001573 (Dec. 14).

The plaintiffs were the recipients of a series of threatening, anonymous messages sent over the Internet and also posted on Internet bulletin boards. After the e-mails and postings were later traced to a single individual, the plaintiffs brought suit against him and his former employer. Plaintiffs included claims for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on the threats the employee made over the employer's computer system. The plaintiffs alleged further that the employer was aware of these activities and that it took no action to stop them. The employer moved for summary judgment and the trial court granted the motion on the basis that the employer was immune from suit under the CDA. The trial court held that under title 47 of the United States Code ' 230(c)(1), the employer was a 'provider ' of an interactive computer service' entitled to immunity under the CDA.