Archive - February 2015

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Court finds Defendants are Entitled to Recover $55,649.98 in e-Discovery Costs
2
You Needn’t Keep Everything Forever: No Sanctions for Non-Party’s Failure to Produce because of Retention Policies, Technology Changes
3
For Delayed Production of Social Media and Other ESI, Court Declines to Shift Expert Costs, Awards Attorneys’ Fees; No Sanctions for Lost Text Messages

Court finds Defendants are Entitled to Recover $55,649.98 in e-Discovery Costs

Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center, Inc. v. Leslea, No. 11-cv-03417-CMA-MJW, 2015 WL 638198 (D. Colo. Feb. 13, 2015)

Plaintiffs brought a “Motion to Review Clerk’s Taxing of Costs Under F.R.C.P. 54(D)(1).” Specifically, Plaintiffs sought review of the clerk’s determination “concerning the costs taxed amount of $55,649.98, which accounts for Defendants contracting with a private consulting company, Cyopsis, to retrieve and convert ESI into a retrievable format to produce information requested by Plaintiffs.” The court held that “[b]ecause Defendants’ costs related to the electronically stored information (“ESI”) are expenses enumerated in 28 U.S.C. § 1920(4), and Plaintiffs were aware that Defendants would have to retain an outside consultant to retrieve and convert the ESI into a retrievable format, Plaintiffs’ Motion is denied.”

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You Needn’t Keep Everything Forever: No Sanctions for Non-Party’s Failure to Produce because of Retention Policies, Technology Changes

United Corp. v. Tutu Park Ltd., No. ST-2001-CV-361, 2015 WL 457853 (V.I. Jan. 28, 2015)

In December 2012, the court in this case issued a subpoena directing Kmart Corporation (“Kmart”) to produce twenty-one categories of documents and later granted Plaintiff’s motion to compel the same.  Accordingly, Kmart produced responsive documentation, but not to Plaintiff’s satisfaction.  Plaintiff thereafter moved for sanctions and for Kmart to be held in contempt.  Concluding that Kmart made a reasonable attempt to provide responsive documentation, and acknowledging Kmart’s explanations for their inability to provide more, including the destruction of documents pursuant to their document retention policy and changes in technology, the court declined to impose sanctions or to hold Kmart in contempt.

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For Delayed Production of Social Media and Other ESI, Court Declines to Shift Expert Costs, Awards Attorneys’ Fees; No Sanctions for Lost Text Messages

Federico v. Lincoln Military Housing, LLC, No. 2:12-cv-80, 2014 WL 7447937 (E.D. Va. Dec. 31, 2014)

In this class action case involving consolidated claims for personal injury and property damage, Plaintiffs’ production of social media posts and other electronically stored information was significantly delayed and allegedly incomplete.  The court declined to dismiss Plaintiffs’ case, however, where “a nearly complete record” was eventually produced, where the information was of “limited relevance” and where there was no showing of Plaintiffs’ bad faith.  Instead, the court declined to allocate the $29,000 Plaintiffs spent for expert assistance and indicated it would award a portion of Defendants’ attorneys’ fees.  For Plaintiffs’ failure to produce text messages, the court invoked Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e) and declined to impose any sanctions.

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