Ever since remote work became a normal reality for corporate
employees, it is not surprising to see an increase in the use of
personal devices for business purposes. This means text messages on
company-owned phones and personally owned phones that are used for
business purposes can be a relevant data source in litigation.
Indeed, courts have generally held that relevant text messages used
for business communications should be preserved and are
discoverable. See, e.g. Schnatter v. Papa John's
Int'l, Inc., No. CV 2018-0542-AGB, 2019 WL 194634, at
*16 (Del. Ch. Jan. 15, 2019) (explaining that where employees or
directors of a company “used personal accounts and devices to
communicate about [company business], they should expect to provide
that information to the Company.”); Paisley Park
Enterprises, Inc. v. Boxill, 330 F.R.D. 226 (D. Minn. 2019)
(ordering the payments of costs and a fine of $10,000 for failing
to preserve text messages).
