Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Website Evidence — Judicial Notice of Data on Government Website

From Paralyzed Veterans of Am. v. McPherson, 2008 Sept. Dist. Sept 69542 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2008):

The plaintiffs request the Court take judicial notice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201(b)(2), of two documents that appeared on the [California] Secretary of State's Internet website. The first is a December 6, 2007 letter approving Marin County's use of the AutoMARK model 200 for the February 2008 election. The second is a set conditions on the use of the AutoMARK, also issued on December 6, 2007 by the Secretary of State, for all California counties using this voting machine. ***"It is not uncommon for courts to take judicial notice of factual information found on the world wide web." O'Toole v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 499 F.3d 1218, 1225 (10th Cir. 2007). This is particularly true of information on government agency websites, which have often been treated as proper subjects for judicial notice. See, e.g., Kitty Hawk Aircargo, Inc. v. Chao, 418 F.3d 453, 457 (5th Cir. 2005) (taking judicial notice of approval by the National Mediation Board published on the agency's website); Coleman v. Dretke, 409 F.3d 665, 667 (5th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (taking judicial notice of Texas agency's website); Denius v. Dunlap, 330 F.3d 919, 926-27 (7th Cir. 2003) (taking judicial notice of information on official government website); In re Wellbutrin SR/Zyban Antitrust Litig., 281 F. Supp. 2d 751, 754 n.2 (E.D. Pa. 2003) (taking judicial notice of the Food and Drug Administration's list of new and approved drugs); United States ex rel. Dingle v. BioPort Corp., 270 F. Supp. 2d 968, 972 (W.D. Mich. 2003) (citation omitted) ("Public records and government documents are generally considered not to be subject to reasonable dispute . . . . This includes public records and government documents available from reliable sources on the Internet."); Cali v. E. Coast Aviation Servs., Ltd., 178 F. Supp. 2d 276, 287 n.6 (E.D.N.Y. 2001) (taking judicial notice of documents from Pennsylvania state agencies and Federal Aviation Administration); In re Agribiotech Sec. Litig., No. CV-S-990144 PMP (LRL), 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5643, *4-5, 2000 WL 35595963, *2 (D. Nev. Mar. 2, 2000) ("In this new technological age, official government or company documents may be judicially noticed insofar as they are available via the worldwide web ").

Held, given the absence of any dispute concerning the posted documents or their accuracy, and the absence of objection, judicial notice taken.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Recent Posts

(1) Appellate Review of Inherent Power Sanctions (7th Circuit): Factual Findings Reviewed for Clear Error, Choice of Sanction for Abuse of Discretion — 4-Element Test for Reversal; (2) Sanctions and Class Actions: Monetary Sanctions Properly Imposed on Defendants for Improper Communications with Class Members (Represented Parties) — “[I]f The Class And The Class Opponent Are Involved In An Ongoing Business Relationship, Communications From The Class Opponent To The Class May Be Coercive” (Good Quote); (3) Monetary Sanctions under Goodyear v. Haeger: If Same Fact-Gathering Would Have Been Conducted Absent The Misconduct, No But-For Causation — But Only “Rough Justice” Required, “Not Accountant-Like Precision” (Good Quote) — Once Misconduct Is Clear, Time Spent Ferreting It Out Compensable under Goodyear; (4) Goodyear Did Not Overrule Long-Standing Rule That Courts May Impose Modest Civil Monetary Sanctions to Curb Litigation Abuse; (5) Appellate Jurisdiction Lacking Where Sanctioned Attorney Fails to File Notice of Appeal and Lawyer’s Intent to Appeal Not Apparent from Client’s Notice; (5) Rule 11 Improper Purpose — Party May Have Many Purposes for Pursuing Claim — As Long As Claim Is Supported by Good Faith Belief in the Merits, “A Parallel Reason Does Not Violate Rule 11” — To Deny A Motion for Sanctions, The District Court Need Not Address Every Argument: “Arguments Clearly Without Merit Can, And For The Sake Of Judicial Economy Should, Be Passed Over In Silence” (Good Quote); Non-Monetary Sanction on Counsel: Complete Twice The Required Amount Of Professional Responsibility Hours For Her Next Continuing Legal Education Cycle Imposed By The State Bar

Archives