Key Insight: Defendant alleges Plaintiff failed to produce documents and requests sanctions, including dismissal.
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: ESI and scanned PDF documents and other documents.
Keywords: Proportionality, motion to compel (not filed)
Key Insight: not ordered to reproduce production of documents in native format (with metadata) but only categories specifically requested by plaintiff
Nature of Case: wrongful termination – contract
Electronic Data Involved: email
Keywords: native format
Key Insight: Concealment and use of electronic evidence improperly obtained by a client.
Nature of Case: Divorce.
Electronic Data Involved: Email, hacked and stolen from the wife’s private email account.
Keywords: Unwarranted intrusions into privileged relationships. Stolen evidence.
Identified State Rule(s): 4-4.4(a); 4-8.4(c); 4-3.4(a)
Key Insight: No sanctions when electronically stored information is lost during ordinary course of business.
Nature of Case: Sanctions
Electronic Data Involved: electronically stored information
Keywords: Safe harbor, Rule 37(e), good faith, normal course of business, spoiliation
Key Insight: Plaintiff unsuccessfully seeks injunction to prevent destruction of certain evidence. Defendants argued that sanctions would be inappropriate and no spoliation had occurred.
Nature of Case: Inmate pro se plaintiff asserts a host of constitutional violations against the U.S. and individual prison personnel.
Electronic Data Involved: Deleted video footage.
Keywords: Failure to preserve, destruction of evidence, spoliation, adverse inference.
Key Insight: Non-responsive documents should not be produced, even if redacted, and privilege or some sort of reason must be asserted for redactions to be proper
Nature of Case: Fraud
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents generally
Keywords: redactions, bloomberg, non-responsive
Key Insight: Production of an plaintiff employee’s own entire email box of 13 years is overbroad and not proportional
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination, whistleblower protection
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents generally
Keywords: proportional, 13 years,
Key Insight: Magistrate recommended sanctions for defendants’ willful failure to comply with his discovery order. No finding of bad faith.
Nature of Case: Breach of contract.
Electronic Data Involved: Defendant emails and text messages.
Keywords: “Strong circumstantial evidence” that the defendants had concealed documents. Adverse inference instructions and legal costs imposed by court.
Key Insight: limited additional discovery on the issue of conflict of interest and bias in the administration of the claim
Nature of Case: ERISA
Electronic Data Involved: 5 depositions and written discovery responses
Keywords: limited additional discovery, discovery duplication, scope of discovery
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