Father Loses $80,000 Settlement Over Daughter's Facebook Post: 4 Things We Can All Learn From This Story

Last week, the Third District Court of Appeals for the State of Florida ruled that Patrick Snay had violated the confidentiality clause of his settlement agreement with a private preparatory school in Miami, Florida. 

Mr. Snay had sued Gulliver Preparatory School for age discrimination after being fired from his position as Headmaster. The school and Mr. Snay came to an agreement wherein the school paid Mr. Snay's legal bills, $10,000 in back pay and an $80,000 settlement.

Not bad, right? Now, here's where the story goes left.


Mr. Snay and his wife, who was also privy to settlement negotiations, ultimately decided to tell their daughter about the outcome of the case. Their claim was that their daughter was a very important part of what was going on because she had been retaliated against as a student at Gulliver Preparatory and knew of the lawsuit her father had brought against the school. "We understood the confidentiality. So we knew what the restrictions were, yet we needed to tell her something," Mr. Snay explained in his court documents.

Upon learning about the outcome of the case, the daughter, who recently graduated from the school, decided to take to Facebook and boast to her 1,200 followers stating "Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver. Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT."

Word got back to the school officials. They sent a letter to Mr. Snay's attorney stating that he had violated the confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement and wouldn't be receiving the $80,000 settlement. The courts agreed with the school officials, invalidating the settlement agreement, and Patrick Snay is, undoubtedly, left wondering where he went wrong.

1. What happens in this house, stays in this house. I bet we've all heard this said before at some point in our lives.  I learned this lesson early on in life and had to teach it to my older children on a couple of occasions. Now, let me make myself clear, I'm not referring to any criminal activities that can cause harm to someone. Things of that nature should always be reported.  I'm referring to things more along the lines of marital, financial and/or sibling issues that typically take place in a family household that should be kept that way. Clearly, and quite surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Snay failed to tell their daughter this when they shared the news of the settlement with her. 

2. Boasting is NEVER a good idea. The Bible says "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." (Proverbs 27:1) Loosing is never fun but it's just as important to be a good winner as it is to be good looser. Besides, what do you really gain by boasting? It makes it obvious to everyone else that the person doing the boasting is masking a much bigger, personal problem than whatever he/she is boasting about. I'm a firm believer in the metaphor "whatever you spit up in the air will fall back on your face." Just be thankful. 

3. Learn how to use social media, don't let social media use you. Social media can be very useful but can also cause more harm than good. One of the main reasons is there's no built-in filter. People have lost their jobs, court battles, and marriages over things they have said on social media. This is due, in part, to the fact that people often times have a false sense of security wherein they believe that because their account is "private" they are free to say whatever they want. Don't believe it - anything you say can and will be used against you at all times! So, if you know yourself well enough to know that you have no filter in "real" life than the chances of you having any discretion when using social media are pretty slim. If that's the case, using social media when you are highly emotional may not be a good idea, just saying.

Also, be careful of the things you fill your news feed with (e.g., negativity, drama, foolishness, etc.). I had to reevaluate my page for this reason. I find that the more you fill your head with these things, the more likely you are to join the crowd and that's not what I wanted to be a part of or do so I had to "un-friend" quite a few people.  So, just remember that your social media page is an extension of you - you are what you post. That being said, what does your social media page say about you? 

4.Think before you speak. That sounds easy enough but you'd be surprise at how often we, myself included, get caught up in the moment and thinking before we speak, or type, goes right out the window. I've found such a helpful acronym that is as much helpful with social media as it is in real life: 

T- Is it true?
H- Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring?
N- Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?

Your reaction time in real life, however, is way shorter than it is when you're typing but if you, at least, have this in the back of your mind it may keep you from putting your foot in your mouth and regretting it later on.

At the end of the day, we are all human and can only hope to learn from our mistakes. 

I hope this helps the next time you feel urged to vent your frustrations on social media or boast in front of others...

Oh yeah, the good news is that Mr. Snay landed a new job as Headmaster of a different school. I hope they enjoy their summer anyway - wherever they spend it!