Client Social Media Discovery for Plaintiff Attorneys

Case Law

Social Media Used as Evidence in Court Cases

Case Name: Losey v. TL Fab

Citation: 2019 Cal. Super. LEXIS 67465 (Cal. Super. Ct. Jan. 3, 2019)

Judge: Honorable Layne H. Melzer

County: Orange County, California

Facts

In a California personal injury lawsuit, the defendant filed a motion to compel the plaintiff to identify all social media accounts under their control. The plaintiff objected on privacy grounds, arguing that identifying account names or platforms intruded upon their right to privacy.

Ruling

The court rejected the plaintiff’s privacy objection and granted the motion to compel. It clarified that identifying existing social media accounts does not constitute a violation of privacy rights. Since the request did not involve the production of any specific content or communications, the court found no legal basis to withhold the information. The ruling confirms that account identification is a minimal, foundational step in the digital discovery process and is necessary to determine potential relevance.

Key Takeaways

  • In California, identifying social media accounts is not considered a privacy violation in discovery, even without content production.
  • Courts view account identification as a procedural requirement to assess potential evidence in personal injury claims.
  • Objections based solely on privacy concerns are unlikely to succeed when only usernames or platforms are requested.

Final Thoughts

This California ruling reinforces a critical distinction: identifying social media accounts is not equivalent to producing protected or sensitive content. Plaintiff attorneys should prepare clients for the inevitability of such requests, especially in personal injury litigation. Early access to this information via client intake or services like Private Footprint helps firms anticipate discovery demands and avoid unnecessary motion practice that could expose clients to court orders or sanctions.

Private Footprint Keeps You in the Know

Your clients’ social media activity may be a goldmine or a minefield, but accessing this content, organizing it chronologically, and producing it in a usable format is exceptionally burdensome on legal team. Private Footprint was developed by Personal Injury attorneys to help plaintiff-only law firms avoid the Discovery/Deposition Surprise and gain clear visibility into their clients’ social media activity to protect and increase the value of their files. We’re also enabling paralegals and legal assistants to produce client social media reports in minutes, not hours. All this for only $100 per client (plus taxes), invoiced as individual receipts itemized for ease of tracking disbursements. No hidden fees, no subscriptions, no surprises.

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