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What Sanction is Warranted for Defendant’s (Almost) Total ESI Production Failure?
In this employment discrimination case Knickerbocker v. Corinthian Colleges, Case NO. C12-1142JLR (W.D. Wash. April 7, 2014)., the duty to preserve evidence for Defendants arose when it received an EEOC Notice of Charge of Discrimination regarding the termination of Plaintiffs in May 2012. Plaintiffs sent a demand letter shortly thereafter
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Plaintiff ESI in Dispute in Anti-Trust Case Alleging $350 Million in Damages
Usually it is the defense production that is in dispute regarding ESI, but not in every case. Procaps S.A. v. Patheon, Inc., Case No. 12-24356-CIV-GOODMAN (S.D.Fla. February 28, 2014) is an anti-trust lawsuit involving international corporations and alleges $350 million in damages, and plaintiff ESI production is in dispute. The
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Litigation Hold Notices: Send Them Out and Hope for the Best?
In our last post, we discussed the timeline of events that gave rise to the duty to preserve evidence in the transvaginal mesh MDL In Re: Ethicon, Inc. Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327 (S.D.W.Va. February 4, 2014). In ruling on a plaintiff Motion for Spoliation and
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When Does the Duty to Preserve Evidence Begin in an MDL?
An order about electronic discovery was released in the transvaginal mesh multidistrict litigation In Re: Ethicon, Inc. Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327 (S.D.W.Va. February 4, 2014). The plaintiff steering committee alleged that Defendant Ethicon engaged in electronic discovery spoliation by failing to issue an adequate litigation
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Does Rule 37(b) Require Sanctions for the Failure to Produce Metadata?
In Ackerman v. PNC Bank, et al., Civil No. 12-CV-42(SRN/JSM)(D. Minn. January 23, 2014), the defendant produced ESI in response to plaintiff eDiscovery requests and a court order relating to a litigation hold. After the defense production was tendered (without metadata), Plaintiff sought sanctions alleging: 1. Defendant intentionally withheld evidence
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The Year in Review: 2013 Trends in Plaintiff Electronic Discovery
Our Plaintiff eDiscovery Experts Highlight Notable Case Law As our website continues to highlight the latest plaintiff eDiscovery cases and topics, certain trends emerge that are exceptionally notable for practitioners. Please review with us some of the electronic discovery blog highlights from 2013! Bar is Raised for eDiscovery Attorney Competence
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Defendants’ “Retention Policy” Deemed Ineffective After ESI and Emails Deleted
In an Order dated November 25, 2013 in Zest IP Holdings, LLC v. Implant Direct Mfg., LLC et al., Civil No. 10-0541-GPC(WVG)(S.D.Cal.), the Magistrate Judge considered Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions based on defendants’ alleged spoliation and discovery abuses. In this patent infringement case, Plaintiffs informed Defendants in August 2008 that
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Plaintiff Attorney Fees Imposed for Defense Production’s “Severe Shortcomings”
As electronically stored information (ESI) is now a standard part of the discovery process in most civil litigation, it is inexcusable to not issue proper ESI litigation holds and deliver the electronic data in a timely manner. For a case demonstrating “severe shortcomings” for defendant’s ESI production, read the case
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Litigation Hold Documentation: Discoverable or Privileged?
In the case Oleksy v. General Electric Co., No. 06 C 1245 (N.D. Ill. July 31, 2013), an eDiscovery and spoliation dispute arose. In the beginning of the litigation, defendant GE claimed to have issued a litigation hold regarding electronically stored information (ESI), and began producing documents to plaintiff. However,
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U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin Provides Lessons on Electronic Evidence Spoliation
Prejudice is Presumed When ESI Destruction is Willful Who better to review a case regarding allegations of electronic evidence spoliation than U.S. District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, author of the groundbreaking Zubulake decisions? In Sekisui American Corporation v. Hart, 12 Civ. 3479 (S.D.N.Y. August 15, 2013), the honorable district