Man Sues His Neighbor For The Password To Her Wi-Fi — ‘My Job Rests On This Work Project, I Need My Wi-Fi’
"The airways belong to the people."
Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock The United States has a rich history of outlandish litigation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reforms listed “frivolous” lawsuits from everything involving Taco Bell meat to Velveeta Mac N’ Cheese taking too long to cook to Crocs that shrink in the heat.
Yet one conflict might just win an award for being the most ridiculous reason to sue someone ever.
A man sued his neighbor for the password to her Wi-Fi, demanding access to a service she paid for because his job depended on it.
A judge announced Rick Connor’s litigious intentions with a confused tone, stating, “You’re suing to gain access to the defendant’s Wi-Fi passcode?”
“That’s right, your Honor,” Rick replied.
“Please, tell us what’s going on with that,” the judge said in a way that made it seem like there was nothing he wanted to know less about.
“I’ve been living across the hallway from Jennifer for about two years now,” Rick said. “I’ve been happily using her internet signal without any problems, up until recently, [when] I come to find out there was a password put on it.”
“I went across the hall to ask Jennifer nicely, several times, for the password, but she keeps on refusing,” he said, like the upstanding neighbor he so clearly proved himself to be.
The judge asked Rick to clarify exactly how long he’d been using Jennifer’s internet, to which he confidently answered, “Two years.”
“Did she know you were using her passcode?” The judge asked.
“I just thought she did,” Rick exclaimed, as the camera cut to Jennifer looking supremely uncomfortable. “Especially at the point where I asked for the password.”
The judge clarified his initial question, explaining that he was referring to the years leading up to the moment when he confronted his neighbor for unfettered access to a service she paid for.
“Ma’am, were you aware that he was using your Wi-Fi?” The judge asked.
Burlingham / Shutterstock
Jennifer calmly responded that she only realized someone else was on her Wi-Fi when the bill increased “exponentially.”
The judge then asked Jennifer how she reacted when Rick demanded she share the password. She stated, “I politely told him I could not give that to him because it was getting too high and getting out of my price range.”
“I started my bill around $100 a month, which I thought was fairly reasonable, and then it skyrocketed to $150 a month,” she explained.
Rick revealed that Jennifer told him the cost of her Wi-Fi yet didn’t think he had to pay for what he’d used.
“As far as I’m concerned, she blasts her music, and I hear it across the hallway. I have to be subjected to it. To me, that’s payment enough,” Rick said like a renegade making up his own rules for how to be a person in the world.
“The airways belong to the people,” he declared, as any true comrade would.
The not-so-neighborly interaction turned increasingly sour as Jennifer explained Rick was harassing her for the Wi-Fi password.
“He knocks on my door at all hours of the day and night,” she said. “I brought some notes that he’s left for me.”
The judge read the Post-it notes out loud, saying, “Mr. Connor, tell me if this sounds familiar: ‘I want the Wi-Fi password, young lady.’ Did you write that?”
“It sounded better in my head,” he admitted.
The second note stated, “Jennifer, I have an important project for work due tomorrow. My job rests on this project. I need my Wi-Fi back. Thanks, Rick.”
The judge straight-up just said, “No. That is not how this works.”
He then asked Rick to confirm he had a job that he was paid for, and that the condo they live in was “a nice place.”
“It is a lovely place, I do like living there,” Jennifer chimed in, her face lighting up.
“So, you have no problem paying your mortgage there at your condo?” the judge asked before posing the question on everyone’s mind: “Why won’t you just buy your own Wi-Fi service and stop leeching off this young lady’s service?”
When Rick admitted to knocking on Jennifer’s door until 2 in the morning, the judge looked ready to burn it all down.
“How do you justify knocking on somebody’s door at 2 o’clock in the morning for anything that’s not an emergency?” he questioned.
The judge denied Rick’s request for the Wi-Fi password and then said, “Buy your own. Get your own little set-up. Get your own.”
It was the judge’s next statement that elevated him from wise court officiant to an everyday hero, as he said he was granting Jennifer a temporary restraining order against Rick.
“That means no more leaving notes on her door,” he said. “That means no more knocking on her door, not at 7 o’clock in the morning, not at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, not at 2 o’clock at night.”
He dismissed the case, but not before warning Rick that if he were to violate the restraining order, they would have this conversation again.
There’s a uniquely dangerous flavor to Rick's entitlement and toxically male behavior. In a world where women aren’t even safe from harassment inside their own homes, it’s vaguely comforting to know that there’s some legal recourse and protection, at least in this particular judge’s courtroom.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.