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Hinchey v. State

New York State Court of Claims
Mar 26, 2015
# 2015-048-170 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. Mar. 26, 2015)

Opinion

# 2015-048-170 Claim No. 121331 Motion No. M-83787

03-26-2015

TRAVIS W. HINCHEY v. THE STATE OF NEW YORK

DAVID J. PAJAK, ESQ. KAUFMAN, DOLOWICH, VOLUCK & GONZO, LLP By: Michael V. DeSantis, Esq.


Synopsis

After an in camera review of a CD-ROM depicting photographs and videos posted on Claimant's social media website pages, the Court found that the material presented was relevant to the issues in the action and discoverable.

Case information


UID:

2015-048-170

Claimant(s):

TRAVIS W. HINCHEY

Claimant short name:

HINCHEY

Footnote (claimant name) :

Defendant(s):

THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Footnote (defendant name) :

Third-party claimant(s):

Third-party defendant(s):

Claim number(s):

121331

Motion number(s):

M-83787

Cross-motion number(s):

Judge:

GLEN T. BRUENING

Claimant's attorney:

DAVID J. PAJAK, ESQ.

Defendant's attorney:

KAUFMAN, DOLOWICH, VOLUCK & GONZO, LLP By: Michael V. DeSantis, Esq.

Third-party defendant's attorney:

Signature date:

March 26, 2015

City:

Albany

Comments:

Official citation:

Appellate results:

See also (multicaptioned case)


Decision

Claimant commenced this action seeking damages for personal injuries sustained due to Defendant's alleged negligence when, on December 18, 2010, Claimant's snowmobile struck a low-lying boulder or large rock which was concealed by snow within the operating path of its snowmobile trail. Defendant thereafter moved for, among other things, an order compelling Claimant to comply with its request for authorizations granting Defendant full access to Claimant's social media website pages. Defendant asserted that, as a result of a review of Claimant's public profile, full access to Claimant's social media website pages was relevant to demonstrate Claimant's use and knowledge of motorized sports.

By Decision and Order dated February 4, 2014 (see Hinchey v State of New York, UID No. 2014-028-504 [Ct Cl, Sise, J., Feb. 12, 2014]), the Court directed Claimant to produce, for in camera inspection, "the current and historical records, including information and photographs, on Claimant's social media website pages, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Friendster, Flickr, and any others. In the event that these records are voluminous, Claimant may be directed to conduct his own initial review of the records and indicate those items that he contends are not discoverable."

Pursuant to the Decision and Order, Claimant forwarded to the Court, for in camera inspection, a CD-ROM containing multiple photographs in multiple file folders, in no discernible order, depicting cats, dogs, fish, unidentified individuals, group gatherings, food, trucks, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles, among other things. Thereafter, on November 6, 2014, this matter was transferred to my Individual Assignment calender. After a Court conference, at which time the parties discussed what social media depictions would be relevant to the matter, on December 22, 2014, Claimant forwarded to the Court for in camera inspection a CD-ROM containing photographs depicting the snowmobiles, the all-terrain vehicles, and a video of an individual riding an all-terrain vehicle in a body of water. The Court has reviewed the CD-ROM discs submitted for in camera review and finds that the photographs depicted in the Claimant's December 22, 2014 in camera submission would be relevant to the issues in this action. Accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED that Defendant's Motion No. M-83787 is hereby granted to the extent that, within 30 days of the date this Decision and Order is filed with the Clerk of the Court, the CD-ROM disc submitted for in camera review under cover dated December 22, 2014 shall be disclosed to Defendant. All CD-ROMs submitted to the Court for in camera inspection are returned to Claimant's counsel under separate cover.

March 26, 2015

Albany, New York

GLEN T. BRUENING

Judge of the Court of Claims

The following papers were read and considered by the Court:

The papers considered with respect to Hinchey v State of New York, UID No. 2014-028-504 [Ct Cl, Sise, J., Feb. 12, 2014];

Correspondence dated April 8, 2014 from Claimant, with attached CD-ROM (with the handwritten notation "Hinchey 121331 FB d/i");

Order, filed November 6, 2014;

Correspondence dated December 22, 2014 (with attached CD-ROM with the handwritten notation "Hinchey proposed disclosure").


Summaries of

Hinchey v. State

New York State Court of Claims
Mar 26, 2015
# 2015-048-170 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. Mar. 26, 2015)
Case details for

Hinchey v. State

Case Details

Full title:TRAVIS W. HINCHEY v. THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Court:New York State Court of Claims

Date published: Mar 26, 2015

Citations

# 2015-048-170 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. Mar. 26, 2015)