{"id":33291,"date":"2018-03-29T14:23:03","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T14:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=33291"},"modified":"2019-04-17T17:13:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:13:58","slug":"social-media-in-litigation-the-increasing-impact-and-evolving-standards-for-discoverability-and-adm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/social-media-in-litigation-the-increasing-impact-and-evolving-standards-for-discoverability-and-adm\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media in Litigation: The Increasing Impact and Evolving Standards for Discoverability and Adm…"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tThe explosion and influence of social media over the past decade cannot be overstated. As social media becomes more enmeshed in the fabric of our society, it has also become more prevalent as a potential source of evidence in the legal arena. Consequently, courts have been tasked with developing standards on how social media may be mined and used in the context of litigation. Two recent Pennsylvania decisions highlight the continually evolving landscape pertaining to both the discoverability and admissibility of social media posts in litigation.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the discovery level, a recent unpublished opinion from the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas addressed whether a defendant is entitled to access a plaintiff\u2019s social media account in order to challenge the extent of the plaintiff\u2019s alleged injuries. In Kelter v. Flanagan<\/em>, The plaintiff claimed that her injuries prevented her from engaging in typical physical activities. The plaintiff acknowledged use of an Instagram account which contained references and photographs of her engaged in physical activities such as shoveling snow and exercising at the gym. The photographs were posted while her account was marked as public, but she later changed that status to private. The defendant sought further discovery on the account, including access to posts labeled as private, but the plaintiff refused.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe trial court noted that social media accounts can be discoverable if it appears likely they contain relevant information. Because the plaintiff had posted photographs that plainly were relevant to her alleged injuries, the trial court ordered the plaintiff to provide the defendant with access to her Instagram account, even after the account became private. In so ruling, the court further emphasized that social media does not carry with it an expectation of privacy related to litigation because the user is sharing information with others in a public or quasi-public domain.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the recently published opinion of Commonwealth v. Mangel<\/em>, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania addressed \u2013 in a matter of first impression \u2013 the standard for admissibility of social media posts. The defendant had been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. The State sought to introduce evidence of an image of bloody hands posted to Facebook, as well as messages allegedly authored by the defendant. The Facebook account at issue bore the defendant\u2019s name, hometown and high school, which the prosecution argued was sufficient to authenticate the proffered evidence.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Superior Court unanimously upheld the trial court\u2019s preclusion of the social media evidence, finding that merely presenting evidence that a post came from a social media account attributable to an individual is not sufficient to authenticate it. Rather, as has been found with regard to the admissibility of text messages, the social media posts must be properly authenticated with direct or circumstantial evidence that corroborates the identity of the author. Such evidence may include testimony from the person who sent or received the communication or contextual clues in the communication tending to reveal the identity of the sender. The State\u2019s computer forensics expert acknowledged that\u00a0type of substantiation is the only way to determine with a reasonable degree of certainly that the actual user authored the communication in question given that social media accounts are easily hacked or falsified. Although this decision was rendered in the criminal context, its extension to civil admissibility is predictable.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese two latest court opinions underscore the need for both counsel and social media users to be attuned to developments in the law\u2019s treatment of social media posts. Due to the pervasiveness of its usage in modern society, social media can serve as a goldmine of valuable information that can have significant impacts on a case. All interested parties \u2013 whether insurer, counsel, or individual \u2013 must be mindful that social media constitutes the sharpest of double-edged swords.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen an opponent\u2019s social media activity is carefully researched and properly developed, it can be used to severely discredit or limit claims for injuries and damages. On the other hand, when one\u2019s own social media is used recklessly, it can result in a self-inflicted wound.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe intersection of social media and its use as evidence in litigation will continue to evolve. Understanding the evolution of how courts are treating this issue is critical to the potential success or failure of a case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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The explosion and influence of social media over the past decade cannot be overstated. As social media becomes more enmeshed in the fabric of our society, it has also become more prevalent as a potential source of evidence in the legal arena. Consequently, courts have been tasked with developing standards on how social media may … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Social Media in Litigation: The Increasing Impact and Evolving Standards for Discoverability and Adm…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nSocial Media in Litigation: The Increasing Impact and Evolving Standards for Discoverability and Adm... - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/social-media-in-litigation-the-increasing-impact-and-evolving-standards-for-discoverability-and-adm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social Media in Litigation: The Increasing Impact and Evolving Standards for Discoverability and Adm... - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The explosion and influence of social media over the past decade cannot be overstated. 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