FC 250 Grand Marshal, Paula Deen (Photo credit: Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway)
Lisa Jackson’s discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against Paula Deen settled last Friday, but not before Deen tried to remove Jackson’s attorney, for publicly disparaging her on social media. A court order filed hours before the settlement reveals that in March, Deen’s lawyers filed a motion for sanctions against Matthew C. Billips, the lawyer who represented Jackson (read the motion here). The motion alleges that Billips made offensive remarks about Deen on Twitter. Some of the more eyebrow-raising tweets included:
“I’ve been doing Paula Deen, in a strongly metaphorical sense”
“I plan on undressing [Deen]” (in reference to an upcoming deposition of Deen)
“Now talk about fun, suing Paula Deen is a hoot!”
In another Twitter conversation about Deen’s diabetes, Billips allegedly referred to Deen’s food with the hashtag #buttercoatedbuttercookies.
Based on Billips’ tweets and his discovery practices, Deen’s lawyers asked the court to disqualify him from continuing to represent Jackson. As the August 23 court order shows, the judge declined to disqualify Billips, but it was open to imposing some form of sanctions against him. The judge has indicated that the settlement will not stop the court from sanctioning Billips despite Deen’s lawyers attempt to withdraw their sanctions motion in light of the settlement. Billips has 20 days as of Friday to show why he should not be sanctioned.
This cautionary tale that teaches litigants (and their attorneys) not to discuss pending cases on social media. Posts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter can be publicly accessible, are potentially discoverable, and can be the basis for a defamation lawsuit. There’s little to be gained and much to lose by talking about a lawsuit online. For that reason, lawyers now commonly instruct their clients in their retainer agreements not to discuss the case with anyone on social media, even family and friends. Lawyers would do well to follow their own advice.
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