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Defendant Must Produce ESI Not In Its Physical Custody But Under Its Control, Computer Imaging Denied Because Need Not Proportional
In First American Bankcard, Inc. v. Smart Business Technology, Inc., et. al., Case No. 15-638 (E.D. La., May 24, 2017), Plaintiff sued Defendants for damages it allegedly incurred as a result of “deficient and defective” software designed, manufactured and hosted by Defendants. Plaintiff used the software to process cash advances
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ESI Spoliation Found to Support Claim of Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
In Systems Spray-Cooled, Inc. v. FCH Tech, LLC, et. al., Case No. 16-1085 (W.D. Ark., May 16, 2017), Plaintiff sued Defendants for misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information. Plaintiff purchased its technology from UCAR Carbon Company, Inc. in 1999. The individual Defendants, Henry and Campbell, are former employees of
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District Court Adopts Magistrate’s Recommendation of Termination Sanction Upon Finding Willful ESI Spoliation
Previously, this blog discussed the case of Coyne v. Los Alamos National Security, LLC, Case No. 15-00054 (D. N.M., May 1, 2017), in which a former employee of Defendant Los Alamos sued Defendants for wrongful termination. In the case, Plaintiff alleged that FMLA leave from her job resulted from a co-worker’s
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The Choice is Yours: ESI Production Under FRCP 34
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34(b)(2)(E) is all about choice: a party can choose to produce electronically stored information (ESI) in the usual course of business, or it can be organized and labeled to respond to the corresponding discovery requests. A seemingly-simple rule, FRCP 34 is often cited as the
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Defendant Ordered to Pay for Plaintiff’s Forensic Examination of Hard Drive
In TLS Management and Marketing Services, LLC v. Rodriguez-Toledo, et. al., Case No. 15-2121 (D. P.R., Mar. 27, 2017), Plaintiff sued Defendants for violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and various Puerto Rico statutes. Defendant Rodriguez-Toledo is a former employee of Plaintiff who allegedly, with the other defendants, stole
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Plaintiff’s Case Dismissed Due To Overwhelming Evidence of Intentional Deletion of Text Messages
In Coyne v. Los Alamos National Security, LLC et. al., Case No. 15-0054 (D. N.M., Mar. 21, 2017), Plaintiff former employee sued Defendant former employer Los Alamos for wrongful termination. Plaintiff alleged that she was assaulted on the job by a coworker and had to take FMLA leave after the
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Metadata Reveals Fake Documents in Delaware Declaratory Action
In Ensing v. Ensing, et. al., Case No. 12591 (Del. Court of Chancery, Mar. 6, 2017), Plaintiff and Defendant Ensing were at one time married, and at the time, they owned together an Italian vineyard with a winery and hotel on the property operated through two Delaware limited liability companies.
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New York Plaintiff Sanctioned for Spoliation of Computer, Text Messages, Audio Recordings
In Simons v. Petrarch LLC et. al., Case No. 158843/2013 (2017 NY Slip Op 30457, Supreme Court of NY, New York County, Mar. 8, 2017), Plaintiff sued her former employer and its owner for alleged incidents during her employment of sexual harassment, retaliation and civil battery. Defendant Petrarch LLC (“Petrarch”)
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Defendants in Trademark Infringement Case Sanctioned For Failure to Produce Quickbooks Source Data
4SEMO.com, Inc. v. Southern Illinois Storm Shelters, Inc. et. al., Case No. 13-297 (S.D. Ill., Feb. 10, 2017) began as a trademark infringement suit brought by Defendant Southern Illinois Storm Shelters, Inc. (SISS) against Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a counterclaim, and after disposition of Defendants’ claims, the counterclaim was all that
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Email in Native File Format with Metadata: More Important Than Ever in 2017!
How important is email communication for nearly every civil litigation? Typically, email is crucial for shedding light on disputed situations. As we have noted before, email is often candid and casual, since people still tend to treat email as a less formal means of communication than a formal business letter.