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Court Orders Defense Production in Searchable Electronic Format with Metadata
In Kwan Software Engineering, Inc. v. Foray Technologies, LLC, No. C 12-03762 (N.D.Cal. October 1, 2013), plaintiff electronic discovery requests were sent and defendant responded by producing 28,786 documents on the discovery due date of August 20. After the deadline, defendants then produced 100,692 documents three weeks later, then 99,778
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Spoliation of Facebook Electronic Data Led to Attorney Being Sanctioned
In the case Lester v. Allied Concrete, Case No. CL08-150(Cir.Ct. City of Charleston, VA), the trial court awarded plaintiff Lester $2,350,000 for personal injuries and $6,227,000 for the death of his wife. Defendants then filed motions for sanctions for spoliation of evidence against Lester and his attorney, Murray, based upon
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Litigation Involving Native Files and Metadata
Courts Support Plaintiff eDiscovery Requests; Require Increased Defendant Data Production Modern discovery presents technological challenges to every litigator, and emerging ethical rules make clear that it is every attorney’s duty to understand electronic discovery. What is a native file? What is metadata? How does metadata compare to TIFF and PDF
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Defendant’s Objections to Plaintiff ESI Rejected by District Court
Fed.R.Civ.P 26(b)(1) calls for a broad range of discovery. The rule permits discovery of non-privileged information relevant to any party’s claim or defense, including electronically stored information, as long as the request describes with reasonable particularity each item or category of items to be inspected. In Viteri-Butler v. UC Hastings
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Taxable Costs Reviewed by District Court in Class Action Case
In an order from a class action lawsuit entitled Nero v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, Civil Action No. 11-cv-02717-PAB-MJW (D.Col. September 23, 2013), taxable costs under Section 1920 were at issue. After the lawsuit was filed on January 3, 2012, the defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss on January
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Plaintiffs Prevail on Electronic Discovery Dispute in Surgical Mesh MDL Regarding International Data
In ongoing multidistrict litigation involving surgical mesh that has been alleged to have injured over ten thousand plaintiffs, an eDiscovery dispute arose over international electronic data. In the case In Re: Ethicon, Inc. Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327, (S.D.W.Va. September 18, 2013), plaintiffs sought electronic data
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Plaintiff Prevails In Cost-Shifting Dispute Under Zubulake Standards
When is cost-shifting appropriate in response to plaintiff electronic discovery requests? In Novick v. AXA Newtowk, LLC, et al., No. 07Civ. 7767 (AKH)(KNF)(September 24, 2013), the plaintiffs sought ESI and email chains from defendant. The plaintiff suggested custodians and the relevant time period to conduct the search, and defendants used
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Court Denies Plaintiff ESI Motion for a Number of Procedural Failures
In a concise order denying plaintiff’s “Motion to Enter ESI Order and Set the Deadline,” a district court enumerates a number of important procedural failures. There are but a few bare facts delineated in the interlocutory order in Smyth v. Merchants Credit Corporation, Case No. C11-1879RSI (W.D. Wash. September 10,
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Plaintiff ESI Requests Initiate a “Depth of Discovery” Inquiry Regarding Custodians In Discrimination Case
Even when parties agree that computer and email searches are relevant and necessary in civil litigation, the potential for disputes is only beginning as demonstrated in the ongoing case Rex Brown v. West Corporation, No. 8:11CV284 (D.Neb. August 16, 2013). In this case, the plaintiff is a former employee of
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Supreme Court’s Taniguchi Decision Used as a Shield Against Taxable Costs
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. 132 S.CT. 1997 (2012), a case that examined the question of what type of costs are taxable under 28 U.S.C. § 1920? Justice Alito wrote for a six-justice majority to hold that“compensation for interpreters”