Judge in social media lawsuit blocks Meta from filing additional plaintiff’s tort claims

A judge in a bellwether social media case in Los Angeles has barred Meta’s defense from introducing a book in which the plaintiff claims she was sexually abused as a child.

The discussion took place after the judge and the plaintiff’s witness, psychiatrist Dr. Kara Bagot, dismissed this day. Meta’s attorney Paul Schmidt went to the lectern to ask Judge Carolyn Kuhl about the exhibit he wanted to present to the court.

The document was a housing application for the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified in court as Kaley GM. When asked in the application if he had experienced “traumatic situations or events” in his life, he wrote: “exposure to neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse during childhood.”

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“This happened in the family, but he was not asked to elaborate,” Schmidt told the judge. Schmidt wanted to present the request, which was filed in May 2024 – after the filing of his case – to show that Kaley did not list “social media addiction” as one of his problems.

Schmidt promised to redact “sexual abuse” from the document because it was not discussed or brought up in the lawsuit in any of his extensive, more than 200, medical records. He said some of the trauma – neglect, emotional and physical abuse – are all based on previous evidence.

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Kuhl asked to see the request and scoffed, telling Schmidt, “It looks like you’re sleeping here. You’re bringing up autism, you’re bringing up sexual abuse that never happened,” Kuhl said.

The plaintiff did not discuss with him or the attorney in court if Kaley was sexually assaulted or if she lied about the sexual assault. Autism has been discussed in his records, but he has not been diagnosed with it.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives at the United States Court House in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2026, Los Angeles, California. (Jill Connelly/Getty Images)

Kuhl asked if there was any evidence of sexual assault. Schmidt said he doesn’t know where Kaley got that, as it wasn’t tested in his placement.

“In this document, he is exaggerating. The common sense is that he should find a place to go, he is trying to convince. [the housing] that he’s an abused child so they can help him,” Kuhl said. “To make it as ‘that’ as possible.”

Schmidt disagrees with Kuhl’s take on the show, saying he just wants to show the trauma he’s witnessed before.

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“I don’t know how you can’t hear this document that I’m receiving. As a judge who sat in courts that abuse children, sometimes children do that,” said Kuhl.

Schmidt told the court he would withdraw the plea and Kuhl thanked him.

Another thing that was discussed after the dismissal of the judge was the issue of the remaining time for both sides to present their case. Kuhl ruled before the trial that each side would get 40 hours to present its case, including all direct and redirect examinations. Right now, the plaintiff’s attorneys, especially lead attorney Mark Lanier, have 5 hours and 56 minutes left. The defense, which includes both Meta and Google, has 11 hours and 11 minutes remaining.

Mark Lanier, the lead plaintiff’s attorney, is moving out of court in California. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Lanier has more witnesses to call, including Meta announcer Arturo Bejar. Schmidt and the defense team appear to be controlling their remaining time until Bagot’s testimony, which they have spent most of their time cross-examining.

Bagot will be on the stand for his fifth day on Thursday, which Lanier acknowledged is unusual. Kuhl is also tired of how long he has been on the stand.

“I want to say something to everyone about where this is going. Suddenly, think to yourself, ‘Have I asked this question before?’ Look at the judges and ask yourself if they have a picture,” said Kuhl.

Kuhl pointed out that if one of the parties runs out of time and doesn’t have a chance to investigate, that could open the door to an appeal.

“The appeals court in our federal court system didn’t address the big time limit issue,” Kuhl said. “If we say this is a watch, and it was put in without knowing what it would look like, and suddenly the party can’t investigate, what are they going to say about this?”

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He expressed his hope that the parties will do this.

“Don’t worry. Don’t fight about it. Everyone close. You will do this.”