Hector Casillas, et al. v. Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company, et al.

Los Angeles, California personal injury lawyers represented Plaintiffs, who sued Defendants the tort of trespass to chattels theory.



According to appellants, respondents Berkshire

Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company (Berkshire),

Cypress Insurance Company (Cypress), Zenith Insurance

Company (Zenith), William Reynolds, and Oliver Glover

conspired to "hack” a third-party computer system. At the

direction of the insurance-company respondents, Reynolds

and Glover allegedly copied thousands of electronic litigation

files, which had been uploaded to the system by workers'

compensation and personal injury attorneys and their clients

(including appellants), and transmitted the copies to

insurers and insurance defense law firms for use in

litigation. Appellants first sued respondents in federal

district court on various causes of action, including invasion

of privacy. After abandoning their invasion-of-privacy claim,

they added a claim of trespass to chattels, which the district

court dismissed without addressing the merits.



The trespass to chattels tort punishes anyone who substantially interferes with the use of another's personal property, or chattels. Plaintiffs must show that the offender had intentional physical contact with the chattel and that the contact caused some substantial interference or damage.

On appeal, appellants contend the court erred in

sustaining respondents’ demurrers to their claim of trespass

to chattels. As indicated above and explained in more detail

below, we agree with the trial court that appellants failed to

state a claim. Accordingly, we affirm.