Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Latest Facebook Discovery Decision Uncovered

 


The most recent Facebook Discovery decision comes in the form of an Opinion by a Western District Federal Magistrate in the case of In re Milo's Kitchen Dog Treats Consolidated Cases, No. 12-1011 (W.D.Pa April 14, 2015 Kelly, P.J.).  The Federal Magistrate Judge denied a Defendant's motion to compel unfettered and complete access of the Plaintiff's profile page along with a disclosure of the Plaintiff's user name and password.

The case arose out of claims that the Defendant's dog treats had caused a fatal illness in the Plaintiff's dog.

The defense asserted that it had made a predicate showing allowing it access to the private pages of the Plaintiff's Facebook profile by establishing that the Plaintiff had commented online that another manufacturer had made the treats.

The Plaintiff did not contest that the defense had made the requisite predicate showing and responded by producing 648 pages from her Facebook profile, with redactions.

Noting that it believed that the Plaintiff had been liberal with her redactions, the court rejected the defense contention that it was entitled to complete access of the private pages of the Facebook profile once a predicate showing was made.

While the defense motion to compel was denied, the court did note that it would review one of the redactions made in an in camera session.


Anyone wishing to review this most recent Facebook Discovery decision may click this LINK.

I send thanks to Attorney Neil O'Donnell of the O'Donnell Law Offices in Kingston, PA for bringing this case to my attention.

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