Key Insight: Finding defendant’s actions went “far beyond mere negligence, demonstrating knowing and intentional conduct that led to the nonproduction of all technical e-mails,” district court affirmed the spoliation inference jury instruction and monetary sanctions imposed by magistrate
Nature of Case: Patent infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Trial court properly ordered insurer to answer victim’s interrogatories despite claimed burden; court remarked: “[I]n the three years following the issuance of Boecher, Allstate still has not implemented a computer program or system for keeping track of the information. In fact, Allstate used two of the very same affidavits it used in Boecher to explain that its computer systems did not have the information requested readily accessible. In this day of the computer age, and in light of the Boecher court’s serious emphasis on the need for the very type of information requested, Allstate may want to reconsider adapting its computer system to provide easier access to the requested information.”
Nature of Case: Personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: Information regarding insurer’s relationship with and payments to medical groups where its experts worked as physicians
Key Insight: Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) depositions re computer systems and data allowed to precede merits discovery
Nature of Case: Antitrust class action
Electronic Data Involved: Information re data, hardware, software of each defendant
Key Insight: Court denied motion to compel as to particular request for production where plaintiff offered to provide defendant a set of portable computer disks (at a cost of $40,000) that contained all the documents that plaintiff produced in separate litigation; since defendant had specifically requested these documents, court would not require plaintiff to cull documents that were responsive to another (more narrow) request
Nature of Case: Dispute over defendant’s credit rating of plaintiff
Electronic Data Involved: Computer disks
Key Insight: Where, after months of discovery disputes, reports upon which defendant urged plaintiff to rely in lieu of full database turned out to be inaccurate, court denied plaintiff’s motion for entry of default judgment for discovery abuse and instead postponed trial so that defendant could produce accurate information; however, court imposed monetary sanctions against defendant representing plaintiff’s legal and expert fees for time spent working with inaccurate data
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Database, reports, electronic data
Key Insight: Supreme Court of Wisconsin quashed as overbroad a “John Doe” subpoena seeking all digital computer information or data maintained by the legislature’s technology services bureau, stored by or on behalf of certain named elected officials, any person who had ever been employed in their offices, as well as anyone who had ever been employed in the legislative caucuses for both parties or, in the alternative, the backup tapes from December 15, 2001, for the entire legislative branch of government
Nature of Case: Criminal investigation relating to political caucuses and actions of certain legislators
Electronic Data Involved: All digital computer information or data, and backup tapes for the entire legislative branch of government
Key Insight: Court denied government’s motion to compel production of opposing party’s rebuttal expert’s proprietary database since rebuttal expert report complied with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) and no further disclosures were warranted
Nature of Case: Taxpayer petition for readjustment
Electronic Data Involved: Proprietary database maintained by taxpayer’s rebuttal expert
Key Insight: Defendant not required to produce entire database; defendant ordered to re-search database for information relevant to subject property and if further information found, to produce it
Nature of Case: Lessor sued for contract breach and related claims stemming from leaking underground storage tank
Electronic Data Involved: Database containing information re facilities with leaking underground storage tanks
Key Insight: In related action, court granted defendant’s ex parte application to allow its consultants to create mirror images of plaintiff’s computer hard drives, backup tapes and other storage media, in light of allegation that critical document and email were fabricated; after granting unopposed motion to dismiss, court awarded defendant $24,845.99 in fees and costs, including computer consultant fees of $5,650
Nature of Case: Alleged breach of lease agreement
Electronic Data Involved: Hard drives and other storage devices
Key Insight: Brief reference in footnote 9 to court’s previous oral ruling enjoining defendant from destroying or erasing any files from her home computer and directing defendant to give the computer to her lawyer so as to preserve potential evidence
Nature of Case: Employer sued former employee alleging she posted false job postings on web site and caused unsolicited job applications and pornographic email to be sent to employer
Electronic Data Involved: Home computer
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