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In the age of “oversharing,” a single click can be the difference between a successful settlement and a dismissed case. If you are a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, your social media accounts are no longer just a place to connect with friends—they are a goldmine for insurance adjusters and defense attorneys. Here is…
Read More Social Media Risks For Personal Injury Plaintiffs
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In Rhino v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., No. 24-CV-3704 (RPK) (RML), 2025 WL 2773065 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2025), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim under New York Labor Law § 201-d. In sum, plaintiff sought and was granted leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As summarized…
Read More Instagram Scooter Video Leads to Termination; “Recreational Activities” Discrimination Claim Dismissed
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On September 14, 2023, Governor Hochul signed legislation, A836, which will prohibit employers from requesting that an employee or applicant disclose social media access information. The new law, to be codified as Labor Law § 201-i, will take effect in March 2024. It does contain exceptions where, for example, the employer acts to in compliance…
Read More Employers’ Access to Employees’ Social Media Accounts to Be Restricted by New Law
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In Caputo v. Iesi NY Corp., No. 150594/2018, 2023 WL 5167701 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Aug. 11, 2023), the court held that summary judgment was inappropriate on plaintiff’s claims of discrimination and retaliation. From the decision: Here, issues of fact preclude summary judgment on all claims related to discrimination and retaliation. Plaintiff and…
Read More Summary Judgment on Disability Discrimination, Retaliation Claims Not Warranted in Light of Conflicting Interpretations of Evidence
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In Gazaway v. Rims USA LLC d/b/a RNR Tire Express, No. 1:21-cv-44, 2022 WL 17869144 (E.D.Tenn. Dec. 22, 2022), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff presented sufficient facts such that a reasonable jury could conclude she was subjected to sexual harassment (of the “hostile work environment” type), as well as whether defendant may successfully…
Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Lewd Snapchat Messages
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Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L., a Minor, By and Through Her Father, Lawrence Levy and Her Mother, Betty Lou Levy, No. 19-1842. The plaintiff in this lawsuit is a high school cheerleader who – due to frustrations arising from, e.g., her…
Read More SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument in “Fuck School” Free Speech Case
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A recent case, Ellis v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., 2021 WL 829620 (3d Cir. March 4, 2021), involves an increasingly-common scenario: an employee of a (non-public) employer suffers a negative job action due to their outside-work social-media posting(s). In this case, the plaintiff (who is white) was terminated following her alleged Facebook post…
Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Dismissal Affirmed; Termination For Controversial Social Media Posts Was Not Unlawful Discrimination
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Here is yet another reason why accident victims should refrain from using social media after they are in an accident. In Smith v. Brown, 2018 NY Slip Op 28299 (Sup. Ct. Bx. Cty. Sept. 27, 2018), a personal injury case involving a motor vehicle accident, the court held that plaintiff was required to respond to requests…
Read More Car Accident Plaintiff Must Respond to Requests for Admission Regarding Instagram “Selfies,” Court Rules
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In Spearin v. Linmar, L.P., 129 AD3d 528 (App. Div. 1st Dept. June 16, 2015), a personal injury case, the court addressed an issue that is coming up with increasing frequency: namely, the extent to which a plaintiff’s social media postings must be turned over in discovery. The court reversed a lower court decision that “ordered…
Read More Piano-Playing Plaintiff’s Facebook Posts Ordered for In-Camera Inspection Green double quotation marks on white background
What does it mean to have a lot of Facebook friends? According to one federal judge, not much. In In re Air Crash Near Clarence Ctr., WDNY 09-md-2085 (Nov. 18, 2013), which arose from the February 12, 2009 crash of Flight 3407, defendant sought production of the Facebook “friend list” of Kevin Guo. Kevin, whose father died in…
Read More Your (Facebook) Friends Are Irrelevant