According to reports, social media giant Snapchat has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over sexual content. While perusing the app, the 14-year old son of Plaintiff Lynette Young apparently came across pictures of Disney characters that included “pornographic text and innuendo next to the photographs.” Young, presumably upset with her teenage son viewing images of cartoon characters admonished by sexual references, retained famed attorney Mark Geregos to sue Snapchat on her behalf as well as all others similarly situated.

The complaint, filed in California federal court, alleges that Snapchat failed to warn users about discoverable sexual content on its app. Specifically, the suit targets the “Discover” section of the app where users can browse content posted by media partners. In particular, the complaint identifies two articles titled, “People share their secret rules for sex” and “10 things he thinks when he can’t make you orgasm,” as prime examples of this allegedly harmful content. Young alleges that such conduct is “profoundly sexual and offensive material to children” and in violation of the Consumer Decency Act. While Snapchat has yet to be served with the complaint, it has issued the following statement on the lawsuit:

We haven’t been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something we support.

Just a couple of months ago, we here at Abnormal Use wrote about another Snapchat lawsuit in which the social media company was sued for allegedly causing a motor vehicle accident in which the at-fault motorist was distracted while using the application. We questioned the merits of that suit arguing that ultimate liability fell on the user. At first glance, the same may hold true here – with one caveat. Ultimately, social media sites are filled primarily with user-generated content, not so much content posted by the app maker itself. Some of this content you certainly may have a problem with children seeing if discovered. While this case is admittedly distinguishable in that does not arise over content posted by a “friend,” but rather by a “news” source, the principle is the same. A social media app in many ways is an extension of the Internet itself. User beware. All parents in this day in age know as much.

The caveat to this idea is that some of this allegedly offensive material at issue in this case comes through Snapchat’s Discover section. Snapchat denies having any control over this content, which may in fact be the case. While it may not control the content itself, it does control the Discover feature and, thus, presumably could do something to filter or, at a minimum, warn users of the sexual content. With that said, Snapchat still remains a bit of an anomaly to us, as we are apparently light years beyond the age of the average user. So, what do we know anyway? Remember that time, we did try out the app? It didn’t go so well.

Did you see that Steven Adler, the former Guns N’ Roses drummer, played with Axl Rose and Slash for the first time since 1990? How about that?

Don’t forget that you can always follow Abnormal Use on Facebook by going here!

Best Lawyers published its Spring 2016 Business Edition this month. In this edition, Best Lawyers printed its inaugural directory of “Women in the Law.” Our Greenville attorneys Debbie Brown, Stephanie Flynn, and Jennifer Johnsen were honored in this edition with listings. For more information, please see here.

Our favorite legal tweet of late comes from our editor, who recently wished the Overlawyered blog a happy 17th birthday

Happy birthday to @WalterOlson‘s @Overlawyered law blog, which turned 17 yesterday. I first started reading it in my @BaylorLawSchool days.

— Jim Dedman (@JimDedman) July 3, 2016

Any regular follower knows that we here at Abnormal Use love an entertaining headline about the trials and tribulations of the food service industry. From hot coffee burns to heart attacks involving “triple bypass” burgers, the world of food and drink has given us much to write about over the years. Why are these stories so engaging? Maybe it is because we can all relate to the everyday people involved. We have each spent our fair share of time eating at a franchised chain restaurant or sitting in a drive-thru line. Or perhaps it’s because our articles are drafted during a lunch break, subconsciously leading our trusty writers to focus on topics that give them an appetite. But we are entering dark times in the food service industry.  After opening our Internet browser this morning and reading today’s headlines, we fear the end is near. They have simply gone too far. I cannot – and will not – get on board with this. Behold, faithful readers, Burger King’s new Mac N’ Cheetos:

That’s right, folks. Soak it up in all its greasy, cheesy, consumeristic glory. Deep-fried sticks of macaroni and cheese encrusted with Cheetos-flavored breading. This writer is a big supporter of restaurant chains and snacking brands partnering together to promote their products under the right circumstances. Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco? Amazing (especially in Cool Ranch flavor). By the way, does anyone really know what those blue flakes on the Cool Ranch Doritos are made of? They need to start selling those bad-boys by the jar in the grocery store. I’d sprinkle them on every dish in place of salt and pepper. But I digress. Back to the offensive issue at hand. Burger King seems to be trying to run with the success and overall deliciousness of Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco by rolling out this sad excuse of a snack. Cheetos are incredible. Mac and cheese is a classic American dish. However, there is no circumstance under which they should be served as one item. Hey, I’m just one guy. And I am certainly no foodie. But if you ask me, this is troubling.

As lawyers, our work often necessitates a good bit of travel. Whether by car to attend a deposition across the state or plane to attend a conference on the opposite coast, traveling affords us the opportunity to see parts of this great country. Most often, travel is an aspect of our profession we enjoy. It certainly ranks well above conducting late-night legal research in one’s office. Other times, traveling for work purposes can turn into an utter nightmare (as can traveling for any purpose).

Recently, I took a deposition in a small town in Mississippi situated a few hours from the nearest airport. While it may not sound enjoyable, I looked forward to it, as I had never spent any time in the state apart from driving across Interstate 20.  he trip started off well enough. I caught a flight to Jackson, rented a car, and traversed through acre upon acre of farm land before reaching my destination. After checking into my hotel, I headed to Doe’s Eat Place, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant housed in a former turn-of-the-century grocery store listed in the National Register of Historic Places. You won’t find a menu at Doe’s, but the waitress informed me that they served steak, tamales, and spaghetti. I chose the steak, and I discovered the best 10 ounces of filet mignon. Sampling local fare is a travel perk, and Doe’s set my trip off in the right direction.

The good vibes from Doe’s, however, were ephemeral. The following day, I took the deposition without a hitch and returned to Jackson to catch my return flight home. Unfortunately, there were no direct flights from Jackson to Greenville, South Carolina, so I made a pit stop in Atlanta, the city where this story begins to sour.

My flight from Atlanta was scheduled to depart at 8:59 p.m. and arrive in Greenville at approximately 10:11 p.m. (In case you are wondering, it is a 29-minute flight, but in typical airline fashion, they built in a cushion in case, well, you know). I boarded the plane around 8:30 and gladly traded my coveted aisle seat to another passenger in exchange for a middle seat. It is only a 29-minute flight, after all, and worth the personal sacrifice to please another. After assuming my temporarily uncomfortable position and listening to the flight attendants deliver the standard, monotonous safety instructions, the pilot made his own announcement over the radio:

Ummmm [never a good thing to hear from the pilot] … We have discovered that the plane’s braking mechanism is leaking some hydraulic fluid. The good news is that we have the replacement part at the airport. The bad news is that it is on the other side. Maintenance is telling me it will be another hour before we get up and running. Worst case.

I understand the need for safety, especially when we are about to undertake a short, yet epic battle with gravity. Brakes come in handy at the end of such a journey. So, I chalk it up as a minor inconvenience and figure I will be home slightly later than my scheduled arrival (given the pre-planned buffer). If only the estimated “worse case” was so. At approximately 9:45, the pilot announced that maintenance faced some difficulty with the installation process and estimated it would be another 45 minutes until departure. Not wanting to keep us hostage, the pilot stated that we are free to leave the place so long as we stay near. Remembering the bar immediately outside the gate, I deplaned and sought a beer.  Only after leaving the plane did I discover that the bar closed at 10. Still in good spirits, I found a nearby Chick-fil-A and grabbed a sandwich (I actually ordered nuggets by the way, but I am not complaining about the mishap).

When I returned from Chick-fil-a, I was greeted by the unwelcome sight of everyone exiting the plane. Apparently, the whole “another 45 minutes” thing was a gross understatement. To the airline’s credit, its representatives tried to lighten the mood by providing snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. They also gave me a free drink coupon good for one beer or cocktail. The rub, however, was that it could only be used on the plane.  he plane that we had just been kicked off of and wanted desperately to board once again. The bitter irony.

Several minutes before midnight, the pilot came out and announced that the plane had been fixed and we were ready to re-board. Unfortunately, the gate attendant had gone AWOL. After a 15 minute search, she was located and we proceeded with boarding the plane. Again. Took the middle seat. Again. Listened to the standard, monotonous safety instructions. Again. At least this time, however, on a plane with a braking mechanism smack full of hydraulic fluid. We eventually pulled away from the gate, rose into the air, and landed around 1:15 a.m. A mere 3 hours after my scheduled arrival. After retrieving my car from the garage and driving home, I strolled wearily into my house, reached into my pocket, and felt something unfamiliar: the free drink coupon, apparently forgotten amidst the frustration of a lawyer’s plight to get home.

After writing these thoughts and sharing this story, I can’t help but be reminded how travel is one of the many things I love about the practice of law. Despite the late-night, mid-week nightmare trying the get home, I am thankful for the experience. At the end of the day, I got to take a deposition, eat a steak at Doe’s, and experience a state to which I had never traveled. Certainly, it would have been better with an aisle seat, a beer, and a plane with functioning brakes, but we can’t expect everything to be perfect, can we?

Happy Fourth of July from we here at the Abnormal Use law blog and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A.! We wish you a safe and festive holiday, and we trust that you will enjoy the day and decline to spend it in the office (if at all possible). We’ll be back tomorrow with regular posts as per usual!

What did everyone think of that “Game of Thrones” finale last weekend?

So, according to The Onion AV Club, Apple “obtained a patent on technology that will disable your phone’s camera when it detects a specific infrared signal,” suggesting that those using their iPhone at a concert might be thwarted. Believe it or not, we addressed this very topic in a 2011 post entitled “On iPhones, Surreptitious Concert Taping, and The Future.” Are we prescient?

Although we love craft brewers, we are not ready for cookie dough beer.

We here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. hope that you have a safe and festive Fourth of July holiday weekend. Try not to do too much billable work over the long weekend. In fact, try to enjoy the world a bit without worrying about work for a few hours.

We’re a bit puzzled by our favorite legal tweet of late, but we still keep trying to imagine the scene depicted therein.

I don’t think Boulder people are talking enough about the fact that someone really tried to smuggle an iguana into court yesterday.

— Alex Burness (@alex_burness) June 18, 2016