Catagory:Case Summaries

1
In re St. Jude Med., Inc., Silzone Heart Valves Prod. Liab. Litig., 2002 WL 341019 (D. Minn. Mar. 1, 2002)
2
State v. Cartwright, 336 Or. 408, 85 P.3d 305 (2004)
3
TPS, Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, 330 F.3d 1191 (9th Cir. 2003)
4
Ex Parte Wal-Mart, Inc., 809 So.2d 818 (Ala. 2001)
5
Zonaras v. Gen. Motors Corp., 1996 WL 1671236 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 17, 1996)
6
In the Matter of Certain Network Interface Cards, 2001 WL 1217233 (U.S.I.T.C. Oct. 12, 2001)
7
Williams v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 665 F.2d 918 (9th Cir. 1982)
8
Advantacare Health Partners, LP v. Access IV, 2004 WL 1837997 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2004)
9
Braxton v. Farmer’s Ins. Group, 209 F.R.D. 651 (N.D. Ala. 2002)
10
Comm’r of Labor v Ward, 580 S.E.2d 432 (Table, Text in WESTLAW) 2003 WL 21267941 (N.C.Ct. App. 2003)

In re St. Jude Med., Inc., Silzone Heart Valves Prod. Liab. Litig., 2002 WL 341019 (D. Minn. Mar. 1, 2002)

Key Insight: Court entered supplementary pretrial preservation order to address “newly created documents” and backups of electronic data; regarding the latter, the order prohibits “the routine erasure of computerized information potentially relevant to the subject matter of this litigation,” but states that “The full and complete back-up of any server or other computer on a periodic basis (e.g. monthly) shall relieve the party of any obligation to maintain any interim backups of the same server or other computer.”

Nature of Case: Product liability

Electronic Data Involved: Electronic data and email, and backups of electronic data

State v. Cartwright, 336 Or. 408, 85 P.3d 305 (2004)

Key Insight: Concluding that defendant had a right to obtain audiotaped prior statements of witnesses for use in cross-examining the individuals whose statements were on the tapes, court noted in footnote: “The audiotapes at issue here are the functional equivalent of written statements. It would be a towering triumph of form over substance to hold that [defendant’s former employer’s] choice of an electronic, rather than a documentary, mode of preserving the witness’ statements puts the statements beyond the reach of a subpoena duces tecum.”

Nature of Case: Criminal sexual harassment

Electronic Data Involved: Audiotapes of witness’ statements made by defendant’s former employer

TPS, Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of Defense, 330 F.3d 1191 (9th Cir. 2003)

Key Insight: Reversing summary judgment for DOD, court stated that relevant inquiry as to whether an agency must provide information in requested format is whether, in general, a requested format is one that is “readily reproducible” by the agency, benchmarked against the agency’s “normal business as usual approach” with respect to reproducing data in the ordinary course of the agency’s business (not limited solely to the context of FOIA requests)

Nature of Case: FOIA action

Electronic Data Involved: Two electronic files in “zipped” format

In the Matter of Certain Network Interface Cards, 2001 WL 1217233 (U.S.I.T.C. Oct. 12, 2001)

Key Insight: Where there were gaps in plaintiff’s production of email, administrative law judge granted motion to compel production of email from plaintiff’s backup tapes but ordered parties to share the costs of such production

Nature of Case: Case before the U.S. International Trade Commission

Electronic Data Involved: Email

Williams v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 665 F.2d 918 (9th Cir. 1982)

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

Advantacare Health Partners, LP v. Access IV, 2004 WL 1837997 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2004)

Key Insight: Court denied motion for default judgment but granted motion for an adverse inference instruction and $20,000 in monetary sanctions where, in advance of court-ordered inspection, defendants deleted from their computers numerous electronic files which had been copied from former employer’s computer systems prior to their resignations, and, after the inspection, defendants failed to comply with court’s order that they delete all of plaintiffs’ files from their computers

Nature of Case: Misappropriation of trade secrets and related torts

Electronic Data Involved: Proprietary information in electronic form

Braxton v. Farmer’s Ins. Group, 209 F.R.D. 651 (N.D. Ala. 2002)

Key Insight: Non-party subpoena issued by plaintiff to insurance agents for email and electronic documents touching on, relating to or concerning use of consumer credit reports in setting homeowners’ insurance premiums quashed as unduly burdensome, in absence of showing that defendant’s production of such materials was inadequate

Nature of Case: Class action alleging that insurer violated Fair Credit Reporting Act

Electronic Data Involved: Email and documents in electronic format

Comm’r of Labor v Ward, 580 S.E.2d 432 (Table, Text in WESTLAW) 2003 WL 21267941 (N.C.Ct. App. 2003)

Key Insight: Where defendants intentionally and willfully refused to comply with court’s discovery orders regarding electronically stored information, sanctions in form of striking defendants’ answer, preventing them from defending against plaintiff’s claims, and granting default judgment was not an abuse of discretion

Nature of Case: Wage and Hour Act violations

Electronic Data Involved: Electronic data

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