Employee’s Facebook Vacation Photos Supported Termination for FMLA Abuse — Lineberry v. Detroit Med. Ctr.
[Post By Venkat Balasubramani] Lineberry v. Detroit Med. Center, 11-13752 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 5, 2013) [pdf] Plaintiff worked for Detroit Med Center as a Registered Nurse. One day she woke up with excruciating pain in her back, and her physician…
Another Employee Behaves Badly on Social Media. Really, You “Can’t Make This Up.” — In re Palleschi
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment from Eric] Palleschi v. Cassano, 2013 WL 322573 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 29, 2013). The trial court decision. Someone calls 911 complaining of a “gynecological emergency.” A fire dept. employee, an emergency medical…
Social Media Evidence Roundup – January 2013 Edition
Social media discovery disputes continue to pop up in the courts, and courts haven’t settled on a set of uniform rules to deal with these disputes. Here is a roundup of the latest set of cases dealing with the issue…
Tenured Teacher Properly Fired for Facebook Quips About Her Students–In re Tenure Hearing of Jennifer O’Brien
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] In the Matter of the Tenure Hearing of Jennifer O’Brien, State Operated School District of the City of Patterson, Passaic County, 2013 WL 132508 (Jan. 11, 2013) [pdf] O’Brien taught in New…
Virginia Supreme Court: Litigant Who “Cleans up” His Facebook Page May Be Sanctioned
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Allied Concrete v. Lester, 2013 Va. LEXIS 8 (Jan. 10, 2013) This case generated some attention at the trial court phase, but for whatever reason I didn’t have a chance to blog it. Lester and his…
Court Orders Password Turnover and In Camera Review of Social Media Accounts – EEOC v. Original Honeybaked Ham Co.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] EEOC v. Original Honeybaked Ham Co. of Georgia, Inc., 11 cv 02560 MSK MEH (D. Col. Nov. 7, 2012) This was a lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of 20-22 persons who were allegedly subject…
Social Media Discovery Case Update and Tips for Those Seeking Discovery
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I’m tired of social media discovery cases. Maybe I’m just tired of discovery (that’s civil discovery I’m talking about, not discovery in the conventional sense). Anyway, we keep seeing these cases, courts (and litigants) continue to…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 4 (Facebook, Content Regulation)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Facebook * Facebook settles “Friend Finder” lawsuit. Prior blog post. * Two girls, ages 12 and 13, face felony for creating a fake Facebook account. * Facebook says ‘Likes’ are Free Speech in Sheriff…
Employee’s Twitter Rant Means He Doesn’t Get Unemployment Benefits–Burns v. UCBR
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Burns v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, No. 1268 C.D. 2011 (Commonwealth Ct. Pa. Oct. 16, 2012) It’s almost become cliché to cite to examples of people fired due to their social media posts, but here…
A Reward Offer Still An Offer, Even if It’s Made on YouTube – Augstein v. Ryan Leslie
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Augstein v. Leslie, 2012 WL 4928914 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 17, 2012). As the post’s title implies, this case is about a reward offer that the plaintiff is trying to enforce. Ryan Leslie, a…