Collins, Noelle C., United States Magistrate Judge
In a personal injury action, the district court granted defendant's motion to compel after finding that the requested postings and report on plaintiff's social media websites were relevant to her claimed injuries in this case.
Defendant requested copies of any and all postings, videos and photographs made by plaintiff on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media websites since the date of the accident. In particular, defendant argued that plaintiff's Facebook page contained relevant information and requested that plaintiff provide defendant with a "Download Your Info" report from her Facebook page from the date of the accident to the present. Defendant further argued that sanctions were warranted because plaintiff deleted numerous pages of her Facebook postings.
Plaintiff objected to defendant's requests as irrelevant and overbroad and argued that defendant failed to show that she had deleted any relevant or non-relevant evidence on her Facebook account. Furthermore, plaintiff argued that defendant's motion was moot since he already accessed her public Facebook account and printed 264 pages of postings.
The court found that plaintiff failed to completely respond to defendant's production requests, in particular, that she failed to disclose the existence of any social media accounts. Further, the court stated that "a party is not relieved of its discovery obligations simply because the other party's independent investigation revealed some but not all of the requested and discoverable information." Regarding defendant' specific request that plaintiff provide a “Download Your Info” report from her Facebook account, the court found that such a production was warranted at this time since plaintiff failed to show how producing it would be burdensome. The court explained:
Accordingly, the court granted defendant's motion to compel and ordered plaintiff to produce a complete list of all social media accounts owned during the relevant time period as well as a copy of the "Download Your Info" Facebook report.that such a broad disclosure might not be appropriate in all circumstances. While the court is mindful of any request that would be an improper intrusion upon plaintiff's privacy, defendant's independent examination has already uncovered relevant information; specifically, comments and photos regarding physical activity such as dancing. Postings or photographs on social networking websites that reflect physical capabilities inconsistent with a plaintiff's claimed injury are relevant.
The court determined that sanctions were not warranted, at this time, because it was unclear if plaintiff deleted any information. Further, by ordering plaintiff to provide the Facebook report, she was afforded the ability to recover any information that may have been deleted.
v.
Schneider National Carriers, Inc. and Dean Lilly, Defendants.
Schneider National Carriers, Inc. and Dean Lilly, Third Party Plaintiffs,
v.
Charles Quinn, Third Party Defendant