In two unrelated decisions issued Wednesday, New Jersey courts have asserted jurisdiction over accused hackers who have no connection to the state, but allegedly sought to inflict harm on Garden State residents.

In one of the cases, the Appellate Division reinstated the indictment of a Florida man who launched a spam attack on a New Jersey company that was his competitor in the medical equipment business. A trial judge had dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, since the spam was sent from outside New Jersey. But the appeals court, in a published decision, ruled that the company and its New Jersey owner were harmed within the meaning of the state computer crime statute.

In a separate case, a federal judge in the District of New Jersey denied a motion to dismiss a civil suit against a Pittsburgh theological institute and four of its board members by its former executive director, a New Jersey resident, who accused the defendants of stealing his email and other computer files. The defendants argued that the New Jersey court lacked personal jurisdiction against them because they had no connection to the state. But the judge found the defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction of the New Jersey court because their alleged tortious conduct was aimed at someone who they knew resided in the state.