Like It Or Not – NS Courts Decide On Production Of Electronic Information

On January 28, 2014 the NS Court of Appeal and Supreme Court each released separate but complementary decisions dealing with the production of "electronic information" – including Facebook content – in a personal injury claim. Together, they offer a helpful framework when seeking production of electronic information: 

• Electronic Information Production Framework. The Court of Appeal laid out a helpful framework for courts and parties to use in requests to produce "electronic information" – like "Facebook" content – that will probably be relevant in other Provinces. 
• Relevance – and evidence of it – is paramount. Relevance of the information sought – even when it's electronic – is still paramount. A party seeking production will need strong, clear and cogent evidence of that relevance. In the past, some courts have ordered production of completely private Facebook content by inferring its relevance – but these decisions support the view that more than