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A $1 Billion Email Gaffe

Posted by kdawson on from the oops-with-nine-zeros dept.

Jake writes in with the story behind an explosive NYTimes scoop last week. It seems that the Times's pharmaceutical industry reporter, Alex Berenson, scored a page-one blockbuster when he revealed that Eli Lilly was looking to reach a settlement with federal prosecutors over the company's alleged inappropriate marketing of anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa. A settlement figure of $1 billion was mentioned. This scoop dropped into Berenson's inbox when a lawyer for one of Lilly's retained firms mis-addressed an email to a colleague with the same last name as that of the Times reporter. Some online observers are speculating that auto-complete is to blame, but this has not been confirmed.
Update: 02/08 17:19 GMT by KD : Jake writes in with an update: it seems that while Berenson did receive a misdirected e-mail from Pepper Hamilton, that e-mail did not contain a detailed description of the status of the Eli Lilly settlement talks. Berenson got his story from other sources.

6 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. ***Legal Notice*** and I mean it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you are not the intended recipient of this response, please disregard and forget this posting.

    You are legally binded from reading, forwarding, printing, copying, remembering, discussing or in any other way acknowledging this post.

    I am planning on robbing the bank on Fifth and Elm. Do not alert the police. Meet me at the warehouse after.

    captcha:overlook

  2. Re:auto-complete is at fault? by yali · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the info was confidential it probably had a confidentiality notice at the bottom of it, stating that if you are not the intended recipient that you aren't allowed to do anything with the email. I saw one of those sig's today and started to wonder if that was legally binding in any way. Maybe we will find out now!

    IANAL, but I'm pretty sure that putting a notice at the bottom of a message creates a legally binding contract.

    --
    NOTICE: This message is distributed under the Slashdot Propriety License. By reading this message, you agree to moderate this message "+1 Informative" if you have mod points, otherwise to send $1,000 in small unmarked bills to the author. Failure to adhere to the terms of the license (which, if you are still reading at this point, you have already agreed to) will result in your being prosecuted under the terms of the DMCA and thrown in a small unheated cell on Guantanamo.

  3. Re:auto-complete is at fault? by Viceroy+Potatohead · · Score: 5, Funny

    which means I have to thumb carefully past people I definitely *don't* want to call by accident (but still need to have in my book) Tell me about it...

    [Me autodialling]
    Callee: Hello?
    Me: Hey baby, it's Thursday. I've got the Tantric oil, buttplug, and Fischer-Price chainsaw ready. When are you heading over?
    Callee: Ummm... How's your week going?
    Me: Mom?

    Every Thursday, like clockwork...
  4. Re:auto-complete is at fault? by jollyreaper · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tell me about it...

    [Me autodialling]
    Callee: Hello?
    Me: Hey baby, it's Thursday. I've got the Tantric oil, buttplug, and Fischer-Price chainsaw ready. When are you heading over?
    Callee: Ummm... How's your week going?
    Me: Mom?

    Every Thursday, like clockwork... Let's just hope one of those times she doesn't say "Oh, what the hell, I'll try anything once."
    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  5. Re:auto-complete is at fault? by swillden · · Score: 5, Funny

    AAAL

    "Ah ahm a lahyah"

    and a southern gentleman too.

    --
    Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  6. Re:WARNING: GNAA by jbosmans · · Score: 5, Funny

    And the culprit is (most likely).... timecop. Smart enough to post AC, dumb enough to leave his user name in the url :p