4 More Pa. Public Nuisance Suits Filed vs. Social Media in Northern Calif.

San Diego-based Frantz Law Group, which has 18 cases in the Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation (docket 4:22-md-3047) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in Oakland, filed four more cases in the same court Monday against Facebook Instagram, Snap, TikTok and YouTube. The nearly identical complaints, co-filed with Butler, Pennsylvania-based Dillon McCandless, involve four schools and 968 students in Sayre (docket 4:23-cv-02100) schools; three Windber area schools with 1,225 students; three Freedom area schools with 2,233 students; and four McKeesport area schools with 3,099 students. All four districts are in Pennsylvania. The suits allege public nuisance, negligence and racketeering. Plaintiffs seek an injunction against the social media platforms’ public nuisance behavior; equitable relief to fund prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic social media use; actual, compensatory and statutory damages; and attorneys’ fees, interest and legal costs. The social media MDL listed over 220 cases Monday.