SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Spalding County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel should be deposed in Maynard v. Snapchat, a local case.
The case stems from a 2015 incident when teen Christal McGee was using Snapchat's filter to track speed. McGee was going over 100mph when she crashed into Uber driver Wentworth Maynard and two passengers. Maynard suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and was in intensive care for five weeks. Maynard sued McGee and Snapchat.
Maynard's suit said the company should be held liable for the crash because of the feature, which he argued would encourage dangerous driving habits. A trial court dismissed the lawsuit, and an Appellate Court sided with the lower court. But in 2022, the GA Supreme Court ruled that the Appellate Court erred in its decision and reversed the decision.
A deposition is a recorded question-and-answer testimony given under oath, and often outside the courtroom, that can be used as evidence.
According to the order, Spiegel is one of two remaining employees at the company who “conceived, proposed, and/or approved the speed filter” and the sole person who “approved the eventual removal of the speed filter.”
Although a date and time have not been set for the deposition, the court ruled it cannot last more than five hours, not including breaks.
"The Court's ruling permitting the deposition of CEO Evan Spiegel, who played a direct role in creating this hazardous feature and approving its eventual removal from Snapchat, is a significant step in the march to justice," Michael Neff of Neff Injury Law, who is representing Maynard, said in a statement. "We will continue our fight for justice on behalf of the Maynards."