We would have thought by now that most people using social networks should probably be aware of the things they post. Even private posts are still visible to those you allowed to view it, meaning that it isn’t truly private in the strictest sense of the word.While we have seen Facebook status updates and Twitter posts that have gotten people fired, a teen by the name of Dana Snay might have cost her father, and herself, a whopping $80,000 in an ill-advised Facebook status update.
Patrick Snay, Dana’s father, had sued the school he was working at for age discrimination and won $10,000 in back wages along with an $80,000 settlement. However part of the agreement on the settlement was that Patrick Snay was not allowed to talk about it at all, as is with the case of certain settlement agreements.
Technically this meant he couldn’t even tell his family, but he decided to do so anyway, claiming that the school’s alleged retaliation against his lawsuit was done through his daughter, leaving her with “psychological scars”.
After learning about father’s victory, Dana Snay took to Facebook and wrote, “Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver. Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT.”
Word got out pretty fast about the update which the school quickly learnt about as well, and since this was a violation of the agreement they had with Patrick Snay, they did not have to pay him the $80,000 settlement. According to the appeals court, “Snay violated the agreement by doing exactly what he had promised not to do. His daughter then did precisely what the confidentiality agreement was designed to prevent.”