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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Facebook Pics May Be Used|to Fight Insurance Claim

(CN) - An insurance company might be able to use evidence from a woman's Facebook account to contest her claim for uninsured motorist benefits, a New York appeals court ruled.

Kara McCann sued Harleysville Insurance Co. of New York for supplementary benefits after she suffered injuries in a car collision with Harleysville's insured.

Harleysville asked Erie County Supreme Court to order McCann to produce photos and authorize her Facebook account information for proof that McCann suffered a serious injury.

After the lower court denied the request, the Rochester-based fourth department appellate division agreed that Harleysville was conducting a "fishing expedition."

The appellate justices disagreed, however, with the supreme court's decision to grant McCann a protective order to prevent future access to the account.

"Under the circumstances presented here, the court abused its discretion in prohibiting defendant from seeking disclosure of plaintiff's Facebook account at a future date," the justices wrote.

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