Discovering Cellphone and Social Media Data: Three Recent Opinions

Product liability and mass torts partner Molly Flynn authored an article for The Legal Intelligencer that discusses the lack of developed case law addressing discoverability of cellphone data and social media posts despite extensive use of electronic communications.

The article provides data from 2005 and 2021 regarding cellphone usage and social media engagement. Flynn provides an overview of three opinions from the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania – Lawson v. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Pendleton v. First Transit and Doe v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections – that involve claims related to workplace conditions and illustrate tension between the right to collect relevant electronically stored information and the balance required by proportionality.