Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Court May Take Judicial Notice of Public Records and Government Documents on Governmental Websites

Hadley v. Chrysler Grp. LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32547 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 13, 2014):

New Chrysler did not manufacture the Class Vehicles, nor did it even exist when the vehicles were manufactured. Rather, New Chrylser was incorporated on April 28, 2009 (see ECF No. 11-2),2 in relation to the bankruptcy of the now defunct Chrysler, LLC ("Old Chrysler"). On April 30, 2009, Old Chrysler and several of its subsidiaries filed for  [*5] Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York ("bankruptcy court").3 See In re Old Carco LLC, Case No. 09-50002 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) New Chrysler was created to purchase certain assets of Old Chrysler. The purchase was in accordance with a June 1, 2009 Sale Order issued by the bankruptcy court. (ECF No. 11-3.)

2   The Court can take judicial notice and consider documents posted on a government website. Lamay v. Balcarel, No. 2:13-CV-10482, 2013 WL 4053203, at *3 n.5 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 12, 2013) (unpublished op.) ("Public records and government documents, including those available from reliable resources on the Internet, are subject to judicial notice"); Hames v. Sepanek, No. 0:13-111, 2013 WL 5235567, at *1 n.1 (E.D. Ky. Sept. 17, 2013) (unpublished op.) (finding that "[r]ecords and information located on government websites are self-authenticating under Fed. R. Evid. 902" and thus can be judicially noticed.)

3   This Court can take judicial notice of the bankruptcy proceedings and filings that are part of the record of those proceedings. See Sanders Confectionery Prod., Inc. v. Heller Financial, Inc., 973 F.2d 474, 480 n.3 (6th Cir. 1992).

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