Gatto v. United Air Lines
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
2013 WL 1285285 (2013)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Frank Gatto (plaintiff) sued United Air Lines, Inc. (United) (defendant) in federal court, seeking damages for injuries he suffered in an airport accident. United believed that Gatto’s Facebook posts would prove its contention that Gatto exaggerated the extent of his injuries. Gatto obeyed the court’s order to give United access to his Facebook account. A few days later, however, Gatto deactivated the account, and Facebook deleted the account’s contents before United could locate all the posts that might undercut Gatto’s case. It was unclear what motivated Gatto to close the account; nor was it clear whether Facebook deleted the account’s contents in accordance with its own retention policy for deactivated accounts or as a result of Gatto’s active intervention. United moved for a jury instruction on the adverse inferences the jury could draw from the spoliation of Gatto’s posts.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mannion, J.)
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