Key Insight: Mandamus relief granted; “run” from database to be narrowed to retrieve only falling-merchandise incidents within geographic and temporal limits set forth by trial court
Nature of Case: Negligence, premises liability
Electronic Data Involved: Run from computer database
Key Insight: Defendant ordered to produce crash test data, but plaintiff to share in cost
Nature of Case: Product liability
Electronic Data Involved: Crash test data
Key Insight: Following additional briefing by parties on attorneys’ fees and adverse inference instruction, magistrate awarded plaintiff $563,843 in fees and $2,998 in costs for its counsel’s efforts on sanctions motion and to secure discovery and crafted jury instruction based upon that adopted in Zubulake V
Nature of Case: Patent infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Plaintiff ordered to produce portions of database relied upon by its expert for 24 customers at issue in the litigation; but plaintiff need not produce or disclose remainder of 790-customer database unless otherwise ordered by the court
Nature of Case: Business litigation
Electronic Data Involved: Customer data
Key Insight: Order memorialized parties’ agreement regarding motion to compel: defendants agreed to produce all emails that exist in printed form, but would not conduct search of electronic database to retrieve emails since it would be cost prohibitive; defendant understood it would be precluded from offering evidence at trial that was not properly disclosed in discovery
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Wife’s acts of removing laptop from family home and delivering it to her attorney for safekeeping were not wrongful; court established protocol for inspection and production
Nature of Case: Divorce proceeding
Electronic Data Involved: Financial data stored on laptop provided by husband’s employer
Key Insight: Applying the Rowe balancing test, court denied producing party’s motion to require requesting party to pay costs associated with computerized privilege review estimated to cost $28,000-40,000
Nature of Case: Copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: 8 hard drives
Key Insight: Where defendant did not timely object to document requests and belated privilege log was inadequate, court determined that attorney-client privilege and work product protection had been waived and ordered production
Nature of Case: Insurance coverage
Electronic Data Involved: Insurer’s computerized “Z-note” file contents related to particular claim
Key Insight: Plaintiffs’ motion for on-site inspection of computer records granted and defendant ordered to pay all plaintiffs’ expenses and legal fees unnecessarily expended due to defendant’s failure to make an accurate disclosure of its computer capabilities in December 1998
Nature of Case: Trademark infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Computerized information re purchase of goods bearing plaintiffs’ trademarks
Key Insight: No abuse of discretion to dismiss suit with prejudice and impose sanctions against plaintiff under Rule 11, where it was determined that plaintiff had relied on falsified email and letters to support her discrimination claims
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination based on race, sex and ethnic origin
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Copyright © 2026, K&L Gates LLP. All Rights Reserved.