As electronic data issues are now commonplace in civil litigation, more state trial and appellate courts are ruling on eDiscovery disputes. In Cartwright v. Scheels All Sports, No. DA 12-0299 (Mont. 2013), the Montana Supreme Court reviewed a case where a plaintiff alleged wrongful termination against defendant, his former employer. A jury trial found in
spoliation
- admin
- June 6, 2013
$250 Million Spoliation Sanction Ordered Against Rambus to Conclude Patent Case
Over 7 years of litigation was recently concluded with a district court entering a $250 million sanction in SK Hynix v. Rambus, 2013 WL 1915865 (N.D. Cal. May 8, 2013). What is interesting in this case is that the sanction was entered against Rambus, the prevailing party, in the underlying patent law case. The extremely
Read More
- admin
- December 12, 2012
eDiscovery Lesson: Surprise! Dismissal Proper After Taking Sledgehammer to Computer
In Taylor v. Mitre Corporation, 2012 WL 5473573 (E.D.Va. Nov. 8, 2012), an employee alleged employment discrimination. After making the requisite EEOC claim, the employee took a “sledgehammer” to his work computer containing email threads and discarded the scraps in a landfill. He subsequently received the “right-to-sue” letter from the EEOC and filed his complaint
Read More
- admin
- December 10, 2012
DOJ’s Untimely Litigation Hold Results in Inadequate ESI Production and Sanctions
In the recent case of U.S. ex rel. Baker v. Community Health Systems, Inc., 2012 WL 5387069 (D.N.M. Oct 3, 2012), the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged the defendant engaged in Medicaid fraud. In a motion for sanctions, defendant alleged that the DOJ’s litigation holds were untimely and as a result, critical emails
Read More
- admin
- October 19, 2012
District Court Ups the Monetary Sanctions for Defense Production Spoliation in Multifeeder
In reviewing the recommendations of the magistrate judge in Multifeeder Technology, Inc. v. British Confectionery Company Limited (2012 WL 4135848 (D. Minn.)), the district court noted that sanctions for spoliation require a finding of an intentional destruction of evidence indicating a desire to suppress the truth. Id. at 4, citing Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Wade,
Read More
- admin
- October 17, 2012
Reviewing the Magistrate Judge’s Order in Electronic Discovery Spoliation Case
In the recent case of Multifeeder Technology, Inc. v. British Confectionery Company Limited (2012 WL 4135848 (D. Minn.)) that we blogged about in our last post, the magistrate judge ordered a computer forensics expert to determine if defendant had engaged in spoliation. The forensic expert demonstrated that defendant in fact had purged files before the experts arrived, including using
Read More
- admin
- October 15, 2012
Another Day, Another Example of Spoliation in ESI Defense Productions
As this blog has noted before, instances of electronic data spoliation are becoming ever increasing events in high-stakes class action lawsuits, multi-district litigation and business litigation. While the motives may vary, in many situations, the missing evidence to be construed against them may be more damaging than the existing evidence itself. The business litigation case of Multifeeder Technology,
Read More