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Jane Doe v. Facebook, Inc.

Paid petition · Supreme Court of Texas, No. 20-0434 · judgment June 25, 2021

Certiorari denied · March 7, 2022
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and down for a business respondent.

Question presented

The Jane Doe plaintiff in this case was sex trafficked as a minor because Facebook’s products connected her with a sex trafficker. The trafficker sold her for sex, allowing men to serially rape her in exchange for money. She was rescued by law enforcement and now seeks to hold Facebook accountable through this action alleging common-law and statutory claims under Texas law. Facebook asserts that it is completely immune from this suit under Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”), which provides that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” The Texas Supreme Court concluded that this provision granted Facebook sweeping immunity on all but one of Petitioner’s claims. The court felt constrained by existing precedent to reach that holding, but also emphasized that it expected this Court to conclusively address Section 230’s reach. The question presented is: Does Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provide immunity from suit to internet platforms in any case arising from the publication of third-party content, regardless of the platform’s own misconduct?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Warren Wayne Harris
Bracewell, LLP

For respondent
Allyson Ho
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 6 conferences

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Argument & decision

Decided March 7, 2022.

Proceedings

  1. Mar 07 2022
    Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Thomas respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. Feb 28 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/4/2022.
  3. Feb 23 2022
    Rescheduled.
  4. Feb 22 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/25/2022.
  5. Feb 16 2022
    Rescheduled.
  6. Feb 11 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/18/2022.
  7. Jan 19 2022
    Rescheduled.
  8. Jan 18 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/21/2022.
  9. Jan 12 2022
    Rescheduled.
  10. Jan 10 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/14/2022.
  11. Jan 05 2022
    Rescheduled.
  12. Dec 08 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
  13. Dec 07 2021
    Reply of petitioner Jane Doe filed. (Distributed)
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  14. Nov 24 2021
    Brief of respondent Facebook, Inc. in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  15. Oct 27 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Pro-Life Action League filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  16. Oct 27 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  17. Oct 27 2021
    Brief amici curiae of Texas, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  18. Oct 18 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 26, 2021.
  19. Oct 15 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 27, 2021 to November 26, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  20. Oct 15 2021
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Jane Doe
    Blanket Consent
  21. Sep 23 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 27, 2021)
    PetitionCertificate of Word CountProof of Service