Frequently Asked Questions
• What legal claims do public entities have against social media companies? Cases against social media companies involving public entities are based on a cause of action that arises from the legal theory known as “public nuisance”. Public nuisance allows both government and private entities to hold companies liable for unique damages incurred as a result of the companies’ conduct. This cause of action has been successfully utilized by government and private entities to redress several similar public health epidemics, most notably the JUUL e-cigarette epidemic, the current opioid crisis, and the original tobacco litigation in the 1990’s. Social media companies have caused a youth mental health crisis that has significantly impacted schools. Utilizing the public nuisance liability theory allows public entities to hold social media companies accountable for their conduct and the damage caused. • How much of our staff’s time will this take? This is difficult to predict with certainty, but we anticipate minimal inconvenience and interruption. We understand that your school administrators are extremely busy, so we will do everything we can to make this process as efficient as possible. Because we anticipate your case may be consolidated in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) for pre-trial coordination, most of the litigation efforts will focus on issues common to all litigants. There will be some case-specific discovery in the MDL, but that would be mostly in the form of written discovery and document production. Given the expected large number of cases filed in the MDL, the number of cases selected for more in-depth discovery and trials is usually relatively small. However, if your case is selected for trial, more in-depth discovery would occur in the form of depositions of key administrators. • What are the costs/risks for public entities participating in this litigation? Frantz Law Group will work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you are not required to pay any legal fees or expenses unless there is financial compensation. All expenses associated with pursuing this claim will be advanced by the legal team. If there is a recovery, Frantz Law Group will be reimbursed for expenses and fees out of the amount of recovery. If the case is not successful,the public entity will not owe Frantz Law Group any legal fees or expenses whatsoever.
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