Key Insight: Defendant claimed reviewing 363,000 emails would be unduly burdensome. Court rules that even the expected responsiveness rate of between 8.3% and 15% meant it would be valuable. Court required defendant to review the emails and denied cost shifting requested by defendant.
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Keywords: burdensome, responsiveness, proportionality
Key Insight: Forensic examination must be proportional to the information it can exclusively gain, including privacy concerns
Nature of Case: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (Class Action)
Electronic Data Involved: Text messages
Keywords: Text messages, imaging, forensic, proportionality
Key Insight: Discovery costs must be proportional to the amount in controversy ($20 million in dispute allows for at least $13,000 in discovery costs)
Nature of Case: Contract breach
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents/communications
Keywords: Backup tapes, proportionality, catastrophic failure
Key Insight: Broad requests by Plaintiff were narrowed by conference and court decision to time period during and after Defendant’s employment
Nature of Case: Misappropriation of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
Electronic Data Involved: E-mails and Documents
Keywords: proportionality, relevancy, time-limited
Key Insight: Intentional spoliation/persistent discovery misconduct can lead to sanctions well above the amount in dispute
Nature of Case: Intellectual Property (trademark infringement/counterfeit)
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic data
Keywords: Sanctions, proportionality, willfully, adverse inference
Key Insight: relevance and proportionality
Nature of Case: false advertising
Electronic Data Involved: documents, communications
Keywords: relevant, proportional, reconsideration, additional discovery, custodial files, protective order, third party discovery
Key Insight: No produced emails were from the Mayor. Mayor’s deposition not necessary or proportional to needs of the case.
Nature of Case: employment discrimination and retaliation
Electronic Data Involved: Over 6,500 emails and attachments produced by defendant.
Keywords: Relevant and proportional, proportionality, mere conjecture and conclusory statements.
Key Insight: statute of limitations, proportionality
Nature of Case: copyright infringement
Electronic Data Involved: financial information
Keywords: meeting of the minds, statute of limitations, undue burden, amount in controversy
Mann v. City of Chicago, Nos. 15 CV 9197, 13 CV 4531, 2017 WL 3970592 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 8, 2017)
Plaintiffs sued the City of Chicago and the Chicago police alleging that they had been wrongfully arrested, detained and prosecuted and that they were abused at “off the books” detention centers without access to counsel. Although the parties agreed on search terms and the majority of custodians, they “reached an impasse” as to which custodians in the Mayor’s Office should be searched, including the Mayor himself. Because the court found the information sought would be relevant and because Defendant did not establish the alleged burden of the request—failing to provide even an estimate—the court granted in part Plaintiffs’ motion to compel, including their request to add the Mayor. In so deciding, the court also noted several proportionality factors, including the importance of the issues at stake and the plaintiffs’ lack of access to the requested information.
Key Insight: Method of production requiring out-of state travel not contract breach and retention of counsel not enough to show material is privileged
Nature of Case: breach of contract, consumer protection act litigation
Electronic Data Involved: audit documents
Keywords: proportionality, foreign parent, method of production, privilege determination
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