Knotty Issues of eDiscovery
A New Jersey State Court determined the imputed income of a defendant in a child custody case to be $100,000 after reviewing photos from social media submitted by the Plaintiff. Fitzgerald v. Duff, 2013 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1376 (App.Div. June 7, 2013). The Court of Appeals reversed the denial of[…]
Read moreCourts will not ReTweet or “Like” discovery requests for social media that are simply fishing expeditions. In Salvato v. Miley, the Plaintiff requested the following discovery: Interrogatory 12 Please identify whether you had any social media accounts and/or profiles including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, you have had at[…]
Read moreThe New York Court of Appeals denied Nonparty Twitter, Inc.’s appeal in People v Harris as “academic” and moot, because the Tweets in question had been produced pursuant to the State’s subpoenas. New York v. Harris, 2013 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2039 (N.Y. Misc. 2013). The case involved the prosecution of an[…]
Read moreIn an employment dispute, the Defendant sought access to the Plaintiff’s Facebook profile and personal computer. The case had involved several discovery disputes challenging the Plaintiff’s discovery productions. Potts v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38795, 5-9 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 20, 2013). Among the discovery requests, the Defendant requested[…]
Read moreThe Defendant, apparently well versed in social-media, requested “[a] complete copy of all communications” between specific individuals and the Plaintiff sent on “Facebook, in a blog, via e-mail, text message, voicemail, letter, facsimile, or anywhere else.” The Defendant requested the ESI be produced in their “original, unaltered form.” Armstrong v.[…]
Read moreThe Plaintiffs in 1524948 Alberta Ltd. v. John Doe 1-50 claimed they were the victims of trademark infringement, trade libel, defamation and intentional interference with contractual relationships. The Plaintiffs claimed the unknown Defendants used a website “to publish allegedly “false, defamatory and infringing statements and to conduct other unlawful activity[…]
Read moreEvents can be announced on a social networking site with a few clicks of a keyboard. What happens when people attending an event announced on a social networking site get attacked by other event attendees? In Melton v. Boustred, the Defendant announced on MySpace he would hold a party at[…]
Read moreSocial networking websites can be a source of litigation and Human Resources nightmares. These sites can also blur the lines between one’s personal and professional life. In Marshall v. Mayor of Savannah a probationary female firefighter was first reprimanded and then fired for her conduct during the reprimand originating from her MySpace photos. Marshall[…]
Read moreA Defendant in a gang related murder and assault case sought to introduce evidence of the victim’s sister’s MySpace page to show the victim’s violent nature toward a rival gang; a propensity for violence; and that the victim started the fight that ended in his death. People v. Williams, 2010 Cal. App.[…]
Read moreThe Defendant, who was being investigated for Social Security Fraud, challenged his confession to Federal agents. United States v. Morales, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122110 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 17, 2009). The tip-off that there had been Social Security Fraud? The Defendant’s MySpace profile. The Defendant denied any wrongdoing when initially interviewed[…]
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