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Spoliation Motion Denied in Misappropriation of Trade Secrets Case
In HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. v. Flowers, et. al., Case No. 15-3262 (N.D. Ga., Jan. 30, 2017), Plaintiff sued Defendants alleging that Defendant Flowers and Defendant Remeika resigned from a non-party subsidiary of Plaintiff, HCC, and appropriated Plaintiff’s trade secrets for use in their new company, Defendant CRU. Plaintiff filed
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Adverse Inference Instruction, Motion Fees and Costs Ordered Against Police Department For ESI Spoliation
Martinez v. Salazar et. al., Case No. 14-534 (D. N.M., Jan. 26, 2017) is an excessive force case filed by Plaintiff, the personal representative of Russell Martinez, against two police officers as well as the Espanola Police Department and the City of Espanosa. The Complaint alleged that one of the
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Foreign Companies Investigated by Foreign Government under No Duty to Preserve ESI for Potential U.S. Lawsuits, Court Says
In Rockman Company (USA), Inc. et. al. v. Nong Shim Company, LTD, et. al., Case No. 13-04115 (N.D. Cali., Jan. 19, 2017), Plaintiffs, direct and indirect purchasers of Korean noodles, filed suit against four companies and their U.S. distributors, accusing them of conspiracy to fix the price of Korean noodles in
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Mississippi Court of Appeals Reverses Jury Award of $0, Finding Spoliation Instruction Improper
In Teal v. Jones, Case No. 2015-00259 (Miss. Ct. App., Jan. 3, 2017), Plaintiff sued her ex-husband’s former mistress for alienation of affections. The divorce between Plaintiff and her ex-husband was finalized in June 2008; however, after the divorce was over, Plaintiff learned about the extramarital affair between Defendant and
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Spoliation Not Addressed In Meaningful Way So Tenth Circuit Court Affirms Summary Judgment
In Helget v. City of Hays, et. al., Case No. 15-3093 (10th Cir., Jan. 4, 2017), Plaintiff, a former employee with the City of Hays’ police department, alleged that because she provided an affidavit in support of another employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the City, she herself was terminated in
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Amended FRCP 37(e) Imposes Higher Culpability for ESI Spoliation Sanctions in 2016 Case Law
In December 2015, the Amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect. One of the updated amendments included FRCP 37(e), Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information. The amendment raised the requisite intent to have the court order spoliation sanctions, including an adverse inference instruction and terminating sanctions. Attorney fees
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The Importance and Effect of a Litigation Hold: Spoliation Sanctions Cases
Spoliation of electronic evidence can be a relatively common occurrence. Many corporate entities routinely delete ESI as part of document retention policies, particularly when an employee has left the company and his or her computer is reclaimed. For that reason, in litigation involving the production of ESI, a litigation hold
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Wrongful Death Plaintiff Awarded Attorneys’ Fees for Defendant Failure to Preserve ESI and Other Evidence
In wrongful death case McQueen et. al. v. Aramark Corp. et. al., Case No. 15-492 (D. Utah, Nov. 29, 2016), Plaintiff’s decedent, Alec McQueen, was killed in an incident at the Bullfrog Marina. On August 15, 2014, before filing the lawsuit, Plaintiff sent a litigation hold letter to Defendant demanding
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U.S. Postal Service Sanctioned for Discovery Violations Against Former Employee
In Adcox v. U.S. Postal Service, Case No. 15-9258 (D. Kansas, Nov. 22, 2016), Plaintiff, a rural mail carrier, sued Defendant for gender discrimination, harassment, retaliation and hostile work environment alleged between 2010 and 2012. She filed her case on September 11, 2015. During discovery, Plaintiff had difficulty obtaining discovery
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No Spoliation in Puerto Rico Age Discrimination Case Where No Intent to Deprive Plaintiff of Emails
In Luz Gonzalez-Bermudez v. Abbott Laboratories PR Inc., et. al., Case No. 14-1620 (D. P.R., Oct. 9, 2016), Plaintiff sued her former employer, Abbott, and her supervisor, Perez, for age discrimination and retaliation under the ADEA as well as the laws of Puerto Rico. On October 15, 2013 and December