Alleged Fortnite Leaker Sued by Epic Games, Offers Defense

An alleged leaker who's accused of sharing Fortnite information early is being sued by Epic Games and has offered a defense against the company's claims.

Back in April when the meteor mayhem was still in full swing and Fortnite's Season 4 hadn't started yet, players were still trying to figure out what could be waiting for them when the next season began. The contents of the Battle Pass and what the meteors meant for the game's map were still largely unknown until a now-deleted post on Reddit shared information about the upcoming reveals before they were officially unveiled. The post accurately said that the meteors would pummel Dusty Depot and turn it into what's now known as Dusty Divot, a different theory than the popular suggestion that Tilted Towers would be the target. It also hinted at the contents that would be found in Season 4's Battle Pass as well as the overarching superhero theme the molded the current season.

That information, according to Epic Games, was divulged to a third-party person by quality assurance contractor Thomas Hannah. Polygon reported that Hannah has been accused of sharing information with the third party which resulted in that unnamed person sharing the information on the game's subreddit. Hannah's full defense that's seen in the documents below said that the third party "pumped [Hannah] with a series of questions and guesses regarding where the meteor would hit."

Epic Games' lawsuit against Hannah said that he worked with the third party to leak the information, but Hannah's defense insists that he had no control over the outcome of the private conversation that led to the third person leaking the information. He does admit, however, that speaking to the third party about the private Fortnite information went against a non-disclosure agreement that Hannah had agreed to. Sharing the information violated the terms outlined in the contract with Epic Games' lawsuit consisting of facts like the one below referring to the NDA and other details. Hannah responded to the below fact with "Admitted" in his defense, a response that showed up in multiple other areas as he either admitted, contested, or partially admitted to the claims.

"Specifically, Defendant entered into a Temporary Personnel Nondisclosure Agreement dated November 27, 2017 (the 'NDA'), in which Defendant acknowledged that during his time at Epic he might 'learn certain information about Epic and its business,' which information Epic desired to protect," Epic Games' lawsuit outlined in the documents below said.

Below are both the May 7 complaint from Epic Games and the June 21 defense from Hannah as obtained by Polygon.

Epic Games vs. Thomas Hannah, May 7 complaint by Polygondotcom on Scribd

Thomas Hannah reply to Epic Games complaint June 21, 2018. by Polygondotcom on Scribd