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Ernest Flagg v. City of Detroit

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
252 F.R.D. 346 (2008)

Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Ernest Flagg (plaintiff) sued the City of Detroit and certain individuals (defendants) (collectively, the city) on behalf of a murdered woman’s minor child. SkyTel, Inc. had provided text-messaging devices to city officials and employees and had maintained copies of some messages after the city discontinued the contract and stopped using Skytel’s devices. Flagg subpoenaed Skytel for certain messages. The city refused to consent to the messages’ disclosure. SkyTel moved to quash the subpoenas, and the city moved to preclude discovery, arguing that the Stored Communications Act (SCA) prohibited the production of electronic communications stored by a non-party service provider.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Rosen, J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

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