Case Summaries – Page 92 – Electronic Discovery Law

O?Berry v. Turner, Nos. 7-15-CV-00064-HL, 7:15:CV-00075-HL, 2016 WL 1700403 (M.D. Ga. Apr. 27, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Where custodian printed single paper copy of relevant driver?s log and PeopleNet data to be maintained in the usual course of business, did nothing more upon receipt of a request for preservation and ultimately misplaced the envelope in which the information was maintained despite claiming to have done ?everything in his power to preserve evidence,? the court found that Defendant filed to take reasonable steps to preserve the data and acted with the intent to deprive Plaintiffs of the information in litigation, reasoning that it was ?simply irresponsible? to print a single paper copy for preservation and noting Defendant?s lack of a document preservation policy and the failure of counsel to contact the at-issue custodian for approximately two and one half years following receipt of the request to preserve, among other things: ?All of these facts, when considered together, lead the Court to conclude that the loss of the at-issue ESI was beyond the result of mere negligence. Such irresponsible and shiftless behavior can only lead to one conclusion?that ADM and Archer Daniel Midlands Company acted with the intent to deprive ??

Nature of Case: Automobile accident

Electronic Data Involved: Driver’s log, PeopleNet data

Frye v. CSX Transp., Inc., No. 14-cv-11996, 2016 WL 2758268 (E.D. Mich. May 12, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Court entered order requiring production of software necessary to review responsive data and ordered that either Defendant would ?provide Plaintiff with a laptop computer loaded with a copy of the responsive data and the software necessary to review that data, to be used solely for the purposes of this litigation and to be returned to Defendants once the litigation is complete? or that Plaintiff could procure a license for the necessary software and be reimbursed by Defendant

Nature of Case: Wrongful death

Electronic Data Involved: Software necessary to review responsive data

Sweltic Chiropractic & Rehab. Ctr, Inc. v. Foot Levelers, Inc., No. 2:16-cv-236, 2016 WL 1657922 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 27, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Where third party refused to preserve potentially relevant evidence absent a court order and maintained a retention policy that would result in the automatic deletion of the at-issue information, court granted in part Plaintiff?s motion to compel preservation (finding that the requested scope of preservation appeared overly broad) but declined to compel forensic imaging

Nature of Case: Telephone Consumer Protection Act

Electronic Data Involved: Fax transmission reports and other ESI identifying fax numbers that received advertisements

Garcia v. City of Farmington, No. Civ. 12-383 JCH/SCY, 2016 WL 7438045 (D. N.M. Jul. 5, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Plaintiff created audio recordings during her employment with Defendant, transcribing some of them and later deleting recordings she felt to be insignificant. Plaintiff also claimed her computer ?crashed? in 2011 or 2012 and that caused her to lose material (this issue not raised at previous deposition). After the close of trial, Defendant filed a Renewed Motion for Adverse Spoliation Inference and to Strike Testimony. The court found Plaintiff had a duty to preserve because she made the recordings after she filed a grievance and EEOC charge. Plaintiff admitted that the deleted recordings did not ?capture unfair and discriminatory treatment of her,? which the court found to ?cure any prejudice Defendant may have suffered.? The court found that Plaintiff?s actions ?were intentional and more than merely negligent, but she did not act with a sinister intent,? and that Plaintiff did not understand she needed to preserve all the recordings. The court will consider Defendant?s evidence of Plaintiffs spoliation when it weighs the evidence presented at trial, but otherwise denied Defendant?s request to impose sanctions.

Nature of Case: Renewed Motion for Adverse Spoliation Inference and to Strike Testimony, on underlying case of discrimination and retaliation

Electronic Data Involved: Audio recordings

Melchior v. Hilite Int?l Inc., No. 3:11-CV-3094-M (BH), 2016 WL 1165911 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 26, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Defendant objected to portion of Plaintiff?s bill of costs for electronic data processing, document conversion, exhibit stamping and copy charges. The court sustained Defendant?s objection relating to costs for (i) ?hosting fees, user fees and other miscellaneous database charges? (outside the scope of ?copying or scanning materials?); (ii) converting ESI documents to TIFF format (parties agreed to produce as either native or TIFF files – ?[b]ecause any conversion of the electronic files was the choice of each party,? the conversion was not ?necessarily obtained for use in the case?); (ii) exhibit stamps (not taxable under 1920(4)); (iv) building an electronic database (?steps leading up to the process of copying? do not fall under copying); (v) Plaintiff?s conversion of documents produced to him by the Defendant (?not necessarily obtained?); and (vi) costs of printing electronic documents to paper (for Plaintiff?s convenience rather than necessary). Plaintiff?s recoverable amount was reduced accordingly.

Nature of Case: Taxable costs

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

Hallmark v. Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP, NO. 11-CV-842W(F), 2016 WL 1128494 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 23, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Court denied Defendant?s motion for protective order shifting the costs of producing inaccessible data as part of agreed upon sample set where Defendant failed to adequately establish the justification for cost-shifting by submitting broadly stated affidavit that provided no explanation re: source of affiant?s knowledge of his assertions or any explanation of what the term ?inaccessible? was meant to apply to (e.g., digitized records v. hard copy) and where affiant offered no justification for estimates re: required man hour or hourly rates; court indicated that even if Defendant had established its burden, application of the Zubulake factors re: cost-shifting favored Plaintiff

Nature of Case: FCDPA

Konica Minolta Bus. Sols., U.S.A., Inc. v. Lowery Corp., No. 15-cv-11253, 2016 WL 4537847 (Aug. 31, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Assessing motion for sanctions, court found that Plaintiff established Defendants? duty to preserve (preservation requests were sent to all defendants) and that ESI was lost but found that further discovery was needed to address whether two of four ?predicate elements? of Rule 37(e) were met, namely whether reasonable steps were taken to preserve and whether the lost ESI could be restored or replaced through additional discovery, reasoning that ?[a]bsent sufficient proof that reasonable steps were not taken, KMBS is not entitled to relief under 37(e), even if it is shown that the ESI was lost. Sanctions are not automatic? and that ?[f]urther, a party cannot be sanctioned where the ability exists to restore or replace the ESI from other sources.?

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

Mathur v. Hospitality Props. Trust, No. 13-cv-7206, 2016 WL 520999 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 10, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Addressing Plaintiff?s claim that defendant?s duty to preserve surveillance footage was triggered by the fact that it knew Defendant was robbed in its hotel, that the police were involved, and that both the police and Defendants ?were using the footage to investigate the incident? (perhaps evidenced by the preservation of different footage at the request of police), the court reasoned that ??mere knowledge of the accident and the possible causes of the accident? is not enough to create a duty to preserve evidence? and found that defendant?s spoliation claim failed

Nature of Case: Claims arising from robbery of hotel guest

Electronic Data Involved: Surveillance footage

Thomas v. Butkiewicus, No. 3:13-CV-747 (JCH), 2016 WL 1718368 (D. Conn. Apr. 29, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Addressing question of spoliation related to surveillance video of prison assaults, court concluded that ?traditional? spoliation analysis (as opposed to analysis pursuant to newly amended FRCP 37(e))

Nature of Case: Claims arising from assault in prison

Electronic Data Involved: Surveillance video

In re Advanced Power Sols., Inc., —S.W.3d—, 2016 WL 3438249 (Tx. Ct. App. June 21, 2016)

Dec 01 2016

Key Insight: Where trial court granted a motion for spoliation sanctions and struck all of Defendant?s pleadings and ordered an adverse inference instruction, court of appeals took up the petition for a writ of mandamus and, addressing the standards for spoliation sanctions in detail, upheld the trial court?s finding that a duty to preserve the at-issue video showing the circumstances surrounding the underlying industrial accident arose from the date of the incident in light of the facts and circumstances of the case and that Defendant breached that duty to preserve through ?willful blindness? by failing to prevent the automatic overwriting of the video despite viewing the video, allowing Plaintiff to view the video while in the hospital, and relying on the video to reconstruct the accident and conduct ?experiments?; regarding the sanctions imposed, the appellate court concluded that the adverse inference was appropriate because of the direct relationship between the loss and the instruction and where the instruction was not excessive in light of the unique nature of the evidence; court granted petition, however, as to order to strike pleadings

Nature of Case: Industrial accident resulting in injuries

Electronic Data Involved: Video of underlying accident

Catagory:Case Summaries