Dana Snay: Facebook Comment Cost $80k, Case May Go To FL Supreme Court

Dana Snay’s Facebook comment cost her family an astounding $80,000 in cold, hard cash, but it’s possible the case may be appealed before the Florida Supreme Court.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, Dana Snay indirectly got her father, Patrick Snay, into trouble with this comment:

“Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver. Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT.”

Although the part about the vacation was a joke, the “case” Dana was referring to was an age discrimination lawsuit made against his former employer, The Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, Florida. As part of the settlement the Snay family was awarded an $80,000 settlement, $60,000 in attorney fees, and $10,000 in back pay. But the terms of the settlement required the father to not discuss the terms of the settlement or to disclose any information to the public at large.

Patrick also says his daughter “had faced retaliation at the school” and already knew about the mediation before the settlement was reached. Dana had supposedly suffered from “psychological scars,” so they felt she needed to be told something.

So, technically, even though Dana Snay’s Facebook comment was crude she probably wasn’t aware her mostly innocent comment had any legal repercussions. The school fought the settlement by citing Dana’s comment and the Third District Court of Appeals favored the school this time, saying the teen violated the confidentiality agreement.

Even though technically it wasn’t the father who broke the confidentiality agreement with the school, some agreements of this type also apply to the “immediate family,” which would include Dana Snay. Still, it’s possible for the family to file a motion for rehearing and also appeal to the Florida Supreme Court

But, according to attorney Bradley Shear, it’s possible the higher court will still side with the school:

“It depends on the terms of the confidentiality contract; each one is different, but the damage is likely done. Some confidentiality agreements stipulate that the client cannot tell people who are not involved in the case: others prohibit anyone from knowing. Facebook is a public forum, even if her profile is set to private, and that’s where the mistake was made. The bottom line is, when involved in legal proceedings, don’t disclose anything on social media. It’s not worth it.”

Do you think it’s fair for the school to take back its lawsuit settlement money due to Dana Snay’s Facebook comment?