Social media is everywhere, including, with increasing frequency, in lawsuits, particularly those involving employment-related claims. For example, employers sued by potential, current, and former employees are seeking social media information to learn if on-line postings by those employees on social media sites contradict statements or contentions made by them in their lawsuit. For their part, plaintiff-employees are seeking social media information to try to bolster their claims, such as looking for information from social mediate sites to show a pattern of allegedly harassing conduct by a supervisor or co-worker that extends beyond the workplace.

In a recent case, Zimmerman v. Weis Markets, Inc., No. CV-09-1535, 2011 WL 2065410 (Pa. Com. Pl. May 19, 2011), the trial court permitted the defendant employer to access the plaintiff’s password-protected on-line information. The plaintiff brought suit against his former employer after he injured his leg on the job while operating a forklift. The plaintiff sought damages for lost wages, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, scarring and embarrassment. The plaintiff claimed that he could no longer participate in certain activities and that his injuries affected his enjoyment of life. At his deposition, the plaintiff stated that he never wore shorts because he was embarrassed by the scar on his leg from the accident. However, the employer discovered on various publically-available social media websites, pictures posted by the plaintiff where his scar was clearly visible.

The defendant pursued this matter further, filing a motion to obtain access to private portions of the plaintiff’s social media sites and posts. The defendant argued that there may be other relevant information contained on those sites that would pertain to the plaintiff’s damages claim. The defendant sought the plaintiff’s passwords, user names and login names. Not surprisingly, the plaintiff opposed the defendant’s efforts to gain access to his private social media sites, arguing that his privacy interest outweighed any need to obtain discoverable material.

The court granted the defendant’s motion, finding that the plaintiff’s privacy interests did not outweigh the defendant’s need to obtain the information, that liberal discovery is favored, and the pursuit of truth is paramount. The court noted that it was the plaintiff who placed his physical condition at issue, and the defendant therefore has a right to find out information about the plaintiff’s condition. The court further reasoned that because the plaintiff posted the information to share with others, he could not now claim a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The court was careful to note, however, that its ruling should not be interpreted as a blanket entitlement to dig into employees’ private social media activities in every case, or that the court would allow “fishing expeditions.” Rather, the court clarified that it would consider an application seeking private social media information if the party seeking the material could make a threshold showing that the publicly accessible portions of the site indicate that there would be further relevant postings in the non-public portions. Thus, what the court essentially held was that if the plaintiff opens the door by posting publically-available information relevant to the lawsuit, private portions of a plaintiff’s social media are fair game. At bottom, this makes sense, however, watch for this rationale to be tested further, and perhaps expanded.