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The Controversy of Federal Rule 37(e)
Would the Proposed Amendment Harm Plaintiff eDiscovery? As of February 18, 2014, the public comments to the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are now closed (extended from the original deadline of the 15th). One particularity controversial proposed amendment is regarding Rule 37(e). Plaintiff trial attorneys and in-house
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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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Facebook Disclosure for 87 Class Action Plaintiffs? Federal Court Denies Discovery Request
Social media accounts, typically Facebook, are currently a hot-button issue for plaintiff ESI production in civil litigation. Most courts require a threshold showing that the public account has relevant information that would lead to discoverable evidence before requiring a plaintiff to produce private portions of the account. In an order
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Routine Deletion of Text Messages: Spoliation or Acceptable Smartphone Maintenance?
State Court Issues Notable Ruling Regarding Electronic Evidence If a defendant readily admits to deleting electronic evidence after a preservation order is in effect, plaintiff trial attorneys could be excused in thinking that a motion for sanctions should be a cut and dry issue. However, issues of spoliation of electronic
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Georgia Appeals Court Considers Proper Form of Document Production and Confidentiality
Proprietary issues in business litigation can sometimes result in disputes regarding confidentially and discovery production. In the state court case Hull, et al. v. WTI, Inc., A13A0003 (Ga.Ct.App. June 18, 2013), the Court of Appeals in Georgia took up an interlocutory appeal regarding sanctions imposed on defendants for the trial
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SCOTUS Delivers Setbacks to Class Actions
Our blog not only follows the latest in plaintiff eDiscovery news and case law, but also cases that affect trial attorneys who fight for consumers in class action lawsuits. Last week, the Supreme Court issued set backs to would-be class members in both a 5-4 decision in Comcast Corp. v.
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ASU’s 2nd Annual eDiscovery Conference to Include Discussion of Updated ABA Model Rules
The second annual eDiscovery conference is taking place at Arizona State University from March 13-15. The Sandra Day O’Conner School of Law is hosting the event, entitled “eDiscovery—The present and the future,” with keynote speakers including the Hon. John Facciola, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of Columbia and the
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Gender Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit to Proceed, Despite Dukes
Many plaintiff trial attorneys were disappointed with the outcome in the Supreme Court decision Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). In Dukes, class certification of 1.6 million women was denied, as the court held the plaintiffs lacked the requisite requirement of commonality. The main problem was that the
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Does Reckless Disregard Rise to the Level of Bad Faith for Evidence Spoliation?
Our blog this week is discussing the evidence spoliation case Bozic v. City of Washington, Pennsylvania (2012 WL 6050610)(W.D.Pa. Dec. 5, 2012). The City Solicitor of the defendant city re-recorded an audiotape of an important meeting with the plaintiff, which events ultimately led to the plaintiff’s termination as a city
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When the Duty to Preserve Evidence Arise for Allegations of eDiscovery Spoliation?
In Bozic v. City of Washington, Pennsylvania (2012 WL 6050610)(W.D.Pa. Dec. 5, 2012) the plaintiff was a female firefighter and the defendant was the employer-city. Plaintiff had previously filed an EEOC charge against the city, and she was later hired. A few months later, the defendant claimed the plaintiff was