Croy v. Google LLC

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedAugust 21, 2024
Docket4:23-cv-12106
StatusUnknown

This text of Croy v. Google LLC (Croy v. Google LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Croy v. Google LLC, (E.D. Mich. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

SHANNON CROY, Civil Action No. 23-12106

Plaintiffs, Shalina D. Kumar v. United States District Judge

GOOGLE LLC, David R. Grand United States Magistrate Judge Defendant. ________________________________/

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION TO GRANT DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 17)

Background

Pro se plaintiff Shannon Croy (“Croy”), brings this lawsuit against defendant Google LLC (“Google”), raising various claims arising out of a “scheme” to unlawfully prevent him from accessing his Gmail account, which allegedly contained “information” regarding 15,000 Bitcoin he claims to have purchased in 2010. (ECF No. 5).1 Croy’s complaint is dense and difficult to follow, as it sets forth allegations in a largely stream-of- consciousness manner in 378 numerated single-spaced paragraphs over 43 pages, accompanied by an additional 84 pages of exhibits. As best as can be discerned, however, a liberal construction of Croy’s lengthy

1 After filing an initial amended complaint as a matter of right (ECF No. 5), Croy improperly filed multiple additional amended complaints without seeking or obtaining Google’s consent or leave of Court (ECF Nos. 7, 11). Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Google notes all of this in its motion to dismiss and thus largely focuses on Croy’s initial amended complaint. (ECF No. 17, PageID.506- 7). In his response brief, Croy “concurs with [Google’s] viewpoint for purposes of this response [and] agree[s] to regard the Amended Complaint dated 08-24-2023 [(ECF No. 5)] as the current operative complaint . . .” (ECF No. 22, PageID.553). Thus, the Court will focus its analysis on that pleading, as well. complaint reflects that, in 2010, he allegedly purchased 15,000 Bitcoin, (Id., PageID.159, ¶ 314), and “stor[ed] his Bitcoin information in email messages to himself” including “a copy of the Dat File, Bitcoin Address, and Keys” to his email at

“Referralrewards@gmail.com.” (Id., PageID.156-57, ¶¶ 294-95). Croy alleges that “immediately after he sent the Bitcoin information from Referralrewards@gmail.com,” “his Bitcoin became corrupted inside his 2010 Wallet.” (Id., ¶ 295). He alleges that “there was no way for [him] to know or imagine this problem existed with 2010 Wallets,” as they were “new technology[] in the year 2010,” and “it’s not his fault Google secretly disable[d]

access to his account,” apparently by “secretly delet[ing] [the] recovery security answer for [the account].” (Id., ¶¶260, 295). It appears that Croy either did not find out about the corruption of his Bitcoin or did nothing to address the situation until almost 11 years later in 2021, at which time he alleges Google “secretly disabled” his email address at Referralrewards@gmail.com because it

was one of several “selected accounts with missing birthdate information.” (Id., ¶¶ 237, 300). Croy alleges that Google’s disabling of his access to Referralrewards@gmail.com was a “breach of duty” that caused “damage or theft to his Bitcoin information.” (Id., ¶ 300). As a result, Croy alleges that, on April 27, 2021, he sent a letter to Google requesting that they restore his access to Referralrewards@gmail.com, but his request was “denied.”

(Id., ¶¶ 241, 297). Croy “informed Google’s CEO and Board Members that there is approximate[ly] 1 billion Dollar[’s worth of] Bitcoin information located in 1 of 61” of his email accounts, and that only after he shared this information did Google assign his account at Referralrewards@gmail.com to “Enhanced or Targeted Re-Collection of Secretly Deleted Recovery Security Answer Scheme” in order to “try[] to permanently steal the value of [his Bitcoin] information from him.” (Id., ¶¶ 246, 348). He alleges that there was also an “inside person” from the United States Postal Service involved in this scheme who

obstructed his sending of US Certified Mail to remedy the issue. (Id., ¶ 279). He alleges that Google has a “pattern of suppressing evidence of secretly deleted recovery emails and recovery security answers.” (Id., ¶ 280). Based on the above allegations,2 Croy contends that Google “actually verified, read[,] intercepted[,] and viewed [his] Bitcoin information inside

Referralrewards@gmail.com” (Id., ¶ 263), in violation of (1) the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (“CFAA”); (2) the Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511; (3) the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501 et seq.; (4) the federal criminal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and (5) the federal criminal mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341. (ECF No. 5, PageID.126, ¶ 2).3 As a result, Croy seeks monetary

2 While Croy sets forth numerous additional allegations against Google, none appear to be related to his actual claims for relief based on the alleged loss of his account access. For example, he alleges, “In year 2021, [he] discovered evidence that Google failed to collect birthdate information for Canterburywoods@gmal.com, Minglegreen@gmail.com, Referralactivity@gmail.com, and Shannonsreward@gmail.com at registration on 01-02-2009, 09-26-2009, 11-29-2009 and 09-15- 2010, respectively. [] In other words, [his] evidence shows Google failed to collect birthdate information at least from 01-02-2009 to 09-15-2010. Retrospectively, a reasonable inference can be made that the commission of the secret disablement of accounts and the fraud concealment pertaining to accords with missing birthdate information started shortly prior to 03-01-2012.” (ECF No. 5, PageID.137-38, ¶¶ 117-18). Again, such allegations fail to support any of Croy’s stated claims for monetary relief based on the alleged loss of his Bitcoin.

3 In his response to Google’s motion to dismiss, Croy concedes that his claims under the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq. (“SCA”), and Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), are subject to dismissal. (See ECF No. 22, PageID.584-85, ¶¶ 100, 101). Thus, the Court need not address these claims here, and they should be dismissed. Croy’s complaint also makes passing references to “exemplary damage[s]” “under MCL 600.2919a, MCL damages of $825,330,600.00, which is based on a value of $55,022.04 per each of his 15,000 Bitcoin. (Id., ¶ 310). Google filed a motion to dismiss, which has been fully briefed. (ECF Nos. 17, 22,

27). The Court finds that oral argument will not aid it in resolving the motions, and declines to hold a hearing. See E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(2). Standard of Review A motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) tests a complaint’s legal sufficiency. “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual

matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).

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Croy v. Google LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/croy-v-google-llc-mied-2024.