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AT&T phone hacking victim won't drop his suit [The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.]
[July 11, 2012]

AT&T phone hacking victim won't drop his suit [The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.]


(Daily News of Newburyport (MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 11--IPSWICH -- AT&T has filed a formal request to dismiss its lawsuit against an Ipswich business owner hit with more than $1 million in charges and interest for phone calls to Somalia three years ago.



But Michael Smith says he's not going away quietly -- he's refusing to drop his counterclaim against the telecommunications giant, at least for now.

"We are proceeding with the countersuit," Smith of Rowley, the owner of Todd Tool and Abrasive Systems on Route 1, said yesterday. "They put me through three years of absolute hell. I can't have them fold up shop and say, 'Oh, sorry to inconvenience you' and walk away." Besides at least $30,000 in legal bills for lawyers and an expert, Smith has spent hundreds of hours dealing with the situation, hours he would rather have spent working at his business, which makes equipment and parts for machine shops.


But it's not just about the money, he said yesterday.

"I want this to be publicized so people in my position understand the vulnerability that exists," he said.

Like a lot of small businesses, Smith has a private phone network called a PBX, which his employees could access remotely. But those systems can be accessed by hackers as well.

Since the episode, Smith said he has strengthened the passwords employees use, making them longer.

AT&T had argued that the hacking, which took place over a six-day period in September of 2009, was partly Smith's fault because he should have had better security.

The company also argued in court papers that under federal regulations they were entitled to collect from Smith, the owner of the phone line, regardless of whether he was the victim of phone hackers.

In a filing late Monday night, lawyers for AT&T continued to maintain that they had a valid claim.

"AT&T maintains that it filed this action in good faith but has decided not to continue pursuit of this action," attorneys wrote in the motion to dismiss.

Smith's lawyer, Donna Mandriota, said she and Smith only recently learned through the court-required exchange of evidence that AT&T became aware of the calls as soon as they began, but allowed them to continue being made for a total of six days, until Sept. 25, 2009.

AT&T, said the lawyer, is claiming that they, not Verizon, blocked the lines and notified the company on Sept. 19, 2009. But Mandriota said the first contact the company had with AT&T was the $891,479 bill that came in the mail a month later.

Smith's lawyer has demanded that the company provide documentation to back up its claim that it notified Todd Tool, but has not received a response.

Smith said it's contradictory for AT&T to claim both that it had no duty to take any measures to protect Smith's firm because it was not a customer, and at the same time claim he has to pay more than $1 million for those calls.

Smith and his lawyer also sought information and records from AT&T about any processes it has in place for monitoring fraud, and for details of any other lawsuits it has filed against other business owners. Mandriota said the company has not responded to those requests, and simply contacted her Monday with an offer to drop the case if Smith dropped his, with no other explanation.

The company, which last week declined to comment on the case because it was "pending litigation," did a 180-degree turn on Monday, hours after the story was published in The Daily News and then around the country after the Associated Press distributed a version of the article.

Kate MacKinnon, a spokeswoman for AT&T, said in a statement last night that "We have dismissed all claims but are sympathetic to Mr. Smith's situation and remain open to resolving his concerns." ___ (c)2012 The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.) Visit The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.) at www.newburyportnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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