TerminatingSanctions

ilsteam
July 29, 2017

Defendant Seeking Evidentiary Sanctions for Discovery Disputes

In Somers v. Digital Realty Trust Inc., Case No. 14-cv-05180-EMC(KAW), N.D. Cal. July 11, 2017, the court concluded that the parties were “incapable of meeting and conferring” and instead decided a number of discovery disputes for the parties. One such dispute concerned electronic files that Plaintiff made available to Defendants via Dropbox. Plaintiff’s due date

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June 12, 2017

After Issuing Terminating Sanctions, Court Awards Prevailing Party Counsel Fees

As reported last month, in Singh et. al. v. Hancock Natural Resources Group, Inc., et. al., Case No. 15-1435 (E.D. Cal., May 24, 2017), the court ordered production of certain emails in TIFF format with metadata. The Defendant Goose Pond Ag, Inc., filed a Motion for Terminating Sanctions, alleging that Plaintiffs had failed to comply with the

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March 8, 2017

Spoliation on a “Staggering Scale” Results in Judgment Sanction in International Patent Infringement Case

In Organik Kimya, San. Ve Tic. A.S. et. al. v. International Trade Commission, Consolidated Case Nos. 2015-1774, 2015-1833 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 15, 2017), Petitioners appealed a decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC) finding that they had spoliated evidence during a patent infringement suit filed by Dow Chemical. Dow alleged that Petitioners infringed four Dow

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November 7, 2016

Court Declines to Enter Terminating Sanctions for Alleged eDiscovery Violations

In Bischoff v. Brittain, no. 2:14-dv-1970 KJM CKD (October 26, 2016), Plaintiffs alleged discriminatory housing practices against Defendants. During discovery, Plaintiffs alleged Defendants failed to identify the search terms used to locate responsive email threads. Further, Plaintiffs alleged Defendants spoliated relevant internal faxes, and therefore filed a motion to compel. The court ordered Defendants twice

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September 7, 2016

Drastic Terminating Sanctions Entered Against Defendant for ESI Spoliation

In Teledyne Technologies Inc. v. Shekar, Case NO. 15-1392 (N.D. Ill., Aug. 22, 2016), Plaintiff sued Defendant, a former employee, to enjoin him from disclosing and/or sharing confidential and proprietary information post-termination. The court issued a restraining order, finding that Defendant had misappropriated trade secrets, deleted Plaintiff’s computer files and more. Defendant did not comply

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September 2, 2016

Terminating Spoliation Sanctions After Using Data Wiping Software Hours Before Forensic Examination

Trude et. al. v. Glenwood State Bank, et. al., Consolidated Case Nos. A15-0378, A15-1863, A15-1864 (Minn. App., Aug. 15, 2016) arose originally from an action to collect on a defaulted loan and grew into a mess of counterclaims and third party complaints. Parties JBI and Trude were sanctioned by the trial court for discovery violations.

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August 31, 2016

Terminating Sanctions Denied at Trial; Will the Appeals Court Reverse?

In Dupree et. al. v. Sajahtera, Inc., et. al., Case NO. B260615 (Ca. App., Aug. 12, 2016), Defendants were the owner and manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Plaintiffs were employees of the hotel who sued Defendants for wrongful termination based upon Plaintiffs’ roles in reporting incidents of sexual harassment by the manager Defendant. During

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May 20, 2016

Court Declines to Order Terminating Sanctions But Admonishes Party for Poor ESI Production

In Applied Underwriters, Inc. v. American Employer Group, Case No. 14-00379 (E.D. Tenn., May 2, 2016), the parties engaged in numerous discovery disputes throughout the litigation, including motions to file under seal and complaints to the court regarding parties’ failure to comply with discovery orders and failure to engage in good faith discovery. Defendant filed

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May 2, 2016

Terminating Sanctions Imposed for Intentional Destruction of ESI

In Schlossburg v. Abell, Bankruptcy Case No. 13-13847, Adversary No. 14-00417 (Bankr. D. Maryland, April 11, 2016), Defendant Abell filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy; thereafter, Plaintiff was appointed as Chapter 11 trustee. Before the bankruptcy filing, Defendant Abell was sued by multiple plaintiffs for his role in an allegedly fraudulent mortgage rescue scam; after being sued,

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April 8, 2016

Ninth Circuit Affirms Terminating Sanction for ESI Spoliation

In an unpublished decision, Roadrunner Transportation Services, Inc. v. Tarwater, Case Nos. 15-55448 and 14-55529 (9th Cir., Mar. 18, 2016), the Ninth Circuit reviewed entry of default judgment based upon an order imposing a terminating sanction for spoliation. In the underlying litigation, Plaintiff employer sued Defendant former employee for violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse