The recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court in Leduc v. Roman confirms that an individual’s Facebook profile pages whether publicly available or open only to “friends” meet the definition of documents under the applicable Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure and as such ought to be disclosed and preserved for discovery. The court also stated that: The Rules of Civil Procedure also impose an obligation on a party’s counsel to certify that he has explained to the deponent of an affidavit of documents “what kinds of documents are likely to be relevant to the allegations in the pleadings”: Rule 30.03(4). Given the pervasive use of Facebook and the large volume of photographs typically posted on Facebook sites, it is now incumbent on a party’s counsel to explain to the client, in appropriate cases, that documents posted on the party’s Facebook profile may be relevant to allegations made in the pleadings. The Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association provides loss prevention information solely for the benefit of CLIA insured lawyers. The content and links provided in Loss Prevention eBytes are intended as resources to qualified lawyers who should exercise due care and their professional judgment in adapting or making use of any content.
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