In my last entry I started discussing what “Discovery” in a lawsuit might involve. I briefly explained that for the most part, the rules allowed a party in a lawsuit to get just about anthing that was reasonably related to the claim being made, but that there were some exceptions.
Recently, a person injured in a car accident brought a lawsuit, and in the course of “Discovery” the defendant demanded access to the plaintiff’s (the person bringing the lawsuit) Facebook account information and photographs on her Facebook account to determine if she had actually sustained a serious injury in the accident. She objected claiming the request was too broad and asked the Court to protect her privacy. The Court granted plaintiff a protective order ruling that the defendant (the person being sued) failed to show that the Facebook information or photographs were relevant and refused to order the plaintiff to turn over the requested “Discovery”.
The defendant brought the argument to the next higher Court and the Appellate Division sided with the plaintiff finding that the defendant’s request for the Facebook account information and photographs was a “fishing expedition” in the hope of finding something reasonably related to the claim. Interestingly the Appellate Division also found that the protective order given to the plaintiff was improper because it prevented the defendant from getting access to the Facebook account in the future if it could somehow show it was relevant.
Although the plaintiff’s Facebook account information and photographs was safe this time, no one knows what the Court might decide the next time the issue comes up. So be forewarned–what you put up on Facebook may become “Discovery”, and that could impact a lawsuit.
As always, whenever you have a legal question it’s best to consult an attorney in your area.
Til next time,
Turning legalese into legal ease,
Lewis
