Richard Fraser was an “exclusive career insurance agent” under a contract with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Fraser leased computer hardware and software from Nationwide for his business. During a...

Richard Fraser was an “exclusive career insurance agent” under a contract with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Fraser leased computer hardware and software from Nationwide for his business. During a dispute between Nationwide and the Nationwide Insurance Independent Contractors Association, an organization representing Fraser and other exclusive career agents, Fraser prepared a letter to Nationwide competitors asking whether they were interested in acquiring the represented agents’ policyholders. Nationwide obtained a copy of the letter and searched its electronic file server for e-mail indicating that the letter had been sent. It found a stored e-mail that Fraser had sent to a coworker indicating that the letter had been sent to at least one competitor. The e-mail was retrieved from the coworker’s file of already received and discarded messages stored on the server. When Nationwide canceled its contract with Fraser, he filed a suit in a federal district court against the firm, alleging, among other things, violations of various federal laws prohibiting the interception of electronic communications during transmission. Did Nationwide act ethically in retrieving the e-mail? Which school of socially responsible conduct did Richard Fraser represent through his conduct? Explain. Which school did Nationwide represent? Explain. Fraser v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 135 F. Supp. 3d 623 (E.D. Pa. 2001).