Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
speciically.did.not.guarantee.“complete.privacy”.in.their.user.
contracts—you. know,. those. long. legal. documents. that. you.
have.to.click.“Yes”.on.whenever.you.sign.up.for.a.new.account.
or.load.up.some.software..How.many.of.you.have.ever.actu-
ally.read.one.of.those?.They.are.legally.binding.contracts,.so.
we.should.all.read.them.carefully,.but.hardly.anyone.ever.does.
Here.is.a.case.where.that.contract.was.actually.called.upon.
to. decide. a. legal. matter.. So. they. really. are. important. even.
though.they.are.ridiculously.verbose.and.dificult.to.get.through.
As. noted. above,. every. case. will. be. different. depending.
on.many.factors..In.this.case.the.court.felt.that.the.informa-
tion.was.material.and.relevant,.and.the.defendant's.need.for.
access.outweighed.the.plaintiff's.privacy.concerns..Using.the.
contract. as. legal. support,. the. court. therefore. ruled. against.
the.plaintiff.and.they.had.to.produce.all.of.the.documentation.
from.their.social.media.sites.as.requested.
1.2.3.4. Spoliation.Examples
The.next.few.cases.are.older,.but.I.wanted.to.include.them.to.
illustrate.speciically.the.kind.of.ways.the.courts.address.spo-
liation..If.you.don't.remember.what.that.is,.check.back.a.little.
in.this.chapter.where.we.discussed.the.Federal.Rules.
1.2.3.4.1. Coleman. v.. Morgan. Stanley. (Florida. Cir.. Ct..
2005).
This. case. resulted. in. a. default. judgment. against.
Morgan.Stanley..They.were.ordered.to.pay.$604.million.in.
compensatory. damages. and. $850. million. in. punitive. dam-
ages.for.failure.to.produce.2,000.backup.tapes.
1.2.3.4.2. Brown.v..American.Home.Products.Corporation.
Diet.Drugs.(E.D.Pa..08/28/2000).(Phen.Fen.litigation).
You.
may.remember.this.case..It.involved.the.selling.of.a.weight.
loss.drug.that.as.it.turned.out.could.cause.some.serious.side.
effects,.such.as.lung.disease.
They. were. sanctioned. for. spoliation. because. they. didn't.
produce. relevant. e-mail.. You. can. see. why. they. might. have.
