Motion to Compel - Granted

A Pennsylvania judge orders the disclosure of a plaintiff's log in credentials to her Facebook page.

In the previous post, I discussed whether a motion to compel log in information would be successful.  Well, at least one judge in Pennsylvania thinks that there is absolutely nothing privileged or protected about posting on Facebook.  

For comparison purposes, Pennsylvania seems to follow the universal discovery standard: any topic that is "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence" is fair game.

I highly recommend reading the court's entire opinion in the matter of Largent v. Reed, but here are the primary holdings of the court:

1. By putting her physical and mental condition at issue in a personal injury lawsuit, the Plaintiff gives the defendant "a good faith basis for seeking material contained on [the plaintiff's] Facebook account."
2. There is no privilege under Pennsylvania law for Facebook posts, and "[t]here is no reasonable expectation of privacy in material posted on Facebook."
3. The Stored Communications Act does not apply to individuals as they are neither "electronic communications services" or "remote computing services" as defined by the Stored Communications Act.
4. Facebook posts and messages do not qualify as an overly broad or unduly burdensome discovery request.  The court notes that by "filing a lawsuit and seeking monetary damages, [the plaintiff] has placed her health at issue, which vitiates certain privacy interests. Any posts on Facebook that concern Largent's health, mental or physical, are discoverable, and any privilege concerning such information is waiver."

As a final note, it seems the plaintiff's attorney in this matter attempted to cite cases by printing an online article from a newspaper and a post from a plaintiff's personal injury firm.  The court not-so-gently reminded counsel to provide a docket number "so that the Court does not need to conduct a wild goose chase to find the case."