When it Comes to Lawsuits, Fear the Facebook

A daughter cost her father $80,000 when she posted on her Facebook profile that he received a settlement from his former employer. The settlement came with a confidentiality agreement preventing the father and his wife from telling anyone of the settlement. They told their daughter and then she blasted it to her 1,200 Facebook friends, some of whom still worked for the employer.

Did the parents violate the agreement? According to the courts, yes.

The lesson, besides not violating a confidentiality agreement, is that you should not, under any circumstances, release material related to litigation (yours or someone you know) on social media. That’s true for current cases, prior cases, or potential cases. It’s likely anything you say will get into the wrong hands.

Archives