Go Fish: Do General Discovery Rules Apply To A Litigant's Facebook Posts?

While discovery of social media information has been commonplace for some time, courts are still struggling with when such discovery should be allowed. While courts generally hold that normal discovery rules apply to social media discovery, at least one judge has identified—and railed against—emerging trends in such cases that impose additional hurdles for litigants seeking discovery of social media information.

Recently, in Forman v. Henkin, a divided New York State Appellate Division panel debated whether requests for Facebook photos are subject to the same standard as any other discovery request. In this personal injury case, the plaintiff, Kelly Forman, alleged that she was injured when a leather stirrup broke while she was riding one of defendant's horses, sending her tumbling to the ground and causing Forman physical and mental injuries. Forman claimed that her injuries have limited her social and recreational activities and that her "social network went from