ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) – A Canadian personal injury law firm is suing a Tennessee company it says ruined its search engine results.
Neinstein LLP filed suit Oct. 20 in Atlanta federal court against Digital Law Marketing and Georgia resident Andy Simpson, alleging violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Simpson, believed to be search engine optimization specialist with DLM, accessed Neinstein’s Google My Business Account beginning in 2019, getting its listed for the areas of Hamilton, Mississauga and Brampton suspended, as well as their URL listing of https://medicalmalpractice.ca, the suit says.
Simpson also had Neinstein’s Google Map listing with more than 200 reviews and its GMB listing for Neinstein Medical Malpractice Lawyers suspended, the suit says. Neinstein filed an action in Canada against a John Doe before it discovered the alleged culprit.
Through third-party discovery, it found out Simpson and DLM were to blame, the suit says.
“By engaging in the conduct described… Defendants violated the CFAA by… intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization and/or exceeding authorized access to obtain or alter information concerning Neinstein, and as a result of such conduct has caused damage and loss to Neinstein far in excess of $5,000 per year,” the suit says.