Key Insight: Email stored in government computers does not automatically become public records by virtue of that storage; private or personal email fell outside the statutory definition of “public records”
Nature of Case: Newspaper sued city to release as public record all email sent from or received by two city employees
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Motion to preclude in-house counsel from having access to confidential information produced by competitors denied; court established detailed protective order for handling of confidential information
Nature of Case: Antitrust
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents
Key Insight: Motion for protective order requiring plaintiff to share the cost of restoring computer files denied; Zubulake judge applied Zubulake factors and concluded that cost-shifting was not appropriate
Nature of Case: Breach of contract class action
Electronic Data Involved: Computer files housed on decommissioned systems
Key Insight: Trial court properly imposed terminating sanctions against plaintiff for egregious discovery abuses, including the deletion of files from hard drives after plaintiff had stipulated that computers and diskettes would not be operated or touched until defendants’ computer expert could examine them
Nature of Case: Breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: Hard drive, computer files
Key Insight: Court denied plaintiff’s motion to compel defendants to provide affidavits of all employees with access to employment databases and hiring practices, in order to establish whether any documents or data was destroyed, since discovery had been closed for one year and there was no evidence that defendants had destroyed documents
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Hiring and employment database and records
Key Insight: Court did not abuse discretion in denying request for computer tapes where requesting party already possessed all information from tapes on wage cards and were not deprived of any data
Electronic Data Involved: Computer tapes containing wage information
Key Insight: Plaintiff failed to comply with court order by making various misrepresentations about whether all original input files were produced and whether software program changed over time it was used; sanction in form of attorneys’ fees and costs warranted
Nature of Case: Construction litigation
Electronic Data Involved: Software program and input files used to make design calculations
Key Insight: Court granted plaintiff’s ex parte motion for expedited discovery and for preservation order; defendant ordered not to destroy or remove any books and records, including those stored electronically
Nature of Case: Cable TV provider sued party alleged to have sold illegal decoders
Electronic Data Involved: Email and business records stored on computer
Key Insight: Since defendant failed to timely produce database dictionary and did not produce all of its expert’s relevant email, court granted motion to compel production of expert’s email; court further granted plaintiff’s request to reconvene expert’s deposition and would allow plaintiff’s expert to review additional material produced and modify his conclusions accordingly
Nature of Case: ERISA litigation
Electronic Data Involved: Email and database dictionary
Key Insight: Order granting ex parte TRO before complaint was filed, and which prohibited defendants from destroying or altering electronic documents pertaining to complaint, was abuse of discretion
Nature of Case: Misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents
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