need info on civil suit

[rottilv]

i work in colorado for a large communications company. i recieve a free employee account for the purposes of testing new product in return i make myself available on my own time for calls regarding these products so i pay w/my personal time if not monetarily. my services shut down so i scheduled a technician to come out and fix it. the technician took my personal account information and e-mailed all of my peers, subordinates and supervisors from his home on his personal web based account without consent of anyone this message "name- is recieving free service and has been since sep 2000. why does he recieve free service whaen all other employees must pay?" first of all this technician does not have the authority to access my account secondly he took private confidential account info to his home for his personal use. my question is do i have grounds to sue this technician in civil court for libel, defamation of character etc. i fully ecourage auditing employee accounts but his actions were malicious implying i was stealing and put me in an embarrassing position. also do i have any grounds to sue the company i work for? the political forum in my workplace is if your recieving free product your stealing.

 

[JETX]

"do i have grounds to sue this technician in civil court for libel, defamation of character etc. "
No.

You admit to getting 'free' service and, according to your post, that is what the technicial said. As such, if the statement made is true, it is an absolute defense against claims of defamation.

"do i have any grounds to sue the company i work for?"
No.

What impropriety are they alleged to have committed?? Maybe they need to make their records more secure, and maybe they could be found liable for allowing access. However, you need to consider the following:
1) Employers don't like to be sued by employees and they will find some way to make you a 'non-employee'.
2) You will need LOTS of money to pursue any action. With little or no chance of recovery.
3) What will you say when the court says, "Prove your damages!"? You haven't been damaged, other than a little pride, which can't be compensated for.

In closing, your final statement is a little confusing... first in your post, you say, "i recieve a free employee account for the purposes of testing new product". Then, the technician says, "why does he recieve free service whaen
all other employees must pay". Finally, you say, "if your recieving free product your stealing". The two just don't work together, and based on the technicians statement, this 'free service' doesn't sound like a 'normal' policy. Do you have some written agreement that you were provided 'free' service?? If not, you probably have a problem with your employer anyway.