Social Media and Discovery Issues

In today’s New York Law Journal, Shari Claire Lewis has a informative article about how the New York courts are dealing with social media and discovery issues.  “Courts Grapple with Discovery of Posts” focuses on two New York cases:  Romano v. Steelcase, Inc., 907 N.Y.S. 2d 650 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk Co. 2010) and McCann v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of N.Y., 910 N.Y.S. 2d 614 (4th Dept. 2010).  The article uses these two cases to differentiate between plaintiffs asking for social media postings that they know exist, because they have seen the information publicly dislplayed on social media sites, and plaintiffs asking for “social media postings based on a general expectation that they would include information” relevant to their case. 

Lewis also also discusses New York Ethics Opinion 843 and New York City Bar Formal Opinion 2010-2, each of which address attorney ethics considerations regarding social media websites.

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