A personal-injury plaintiff who deleted his Facebook account while the
defendants were trying to access it has been sanctioned for spoliation. The
plaintiff “had a duty to preserve his Facebook account at the time it was
deactivated and deleted” and the defense would be prejudiced by loss of the
evidence U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Mannion ruled Monday in Gatto v.
United Airlines. Judge Mannion, who sits in Newark, declined a
request for legal fees, finding the adverse-inference jury instruction he
ordered was a sufficient penalty.
Be aware that information you post on facebook often becomes “public knowledge” that might be harmful to you in certain circumstances.