Key Insight: spoliation
Nature of Case: Fair Labor Standards Act, retaliation
Electronic Data Involved: mobile phone data, text messages
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions, preservation, reasonable steps, intent to deprive, negligence
Key Insight: Plaintiff produced cast majority of document after discovery cutoff. Court ruled that this warranted sanctions and excluded them from using those document, jury instruction , excluded their expert testimony and awarded attorneys fees to defendant.
Nature of Case: Breach of Contract
Electronic Data Involved: Cash Transaction Records
Keywords: Sanctions, production after deadline, expert opinions
Key Insight: Non-ideal conduct related to discovery does not automatically rise to “willfully deceiv[ing]” the court for dismissal sanctions, failure to produce discovery in a timely manner leads to cost shifting
Nature of Case: Trademark infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents generally
Keywords: “routine document destruction,” sticker,
Key Insight: ineffective litigation hold, failure to preserve electronic evidence
Nature of Case: workplace harassment and discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: emails, text messages, instant messages
Keywords: instant messages, faulty and failed litigation hold, the defendant “bollixed its litigation hold”
Key Insight: Whether insufficient care with selection of search terms, which resulted in the withholding of relevant emails amounts to spoilation
Nature of Case: bankruptcy
Electronic Data Involved: emails
Keywords: insufficient care, search terms, spoilation
Key Insight: Phone Call was deleted by negligence. Court allowed short statement regarding spoliation to jury, but did not order an adverse inference instruction.
Nature of Case: Civil Rights; Wrongful Death
Electronic Data Involved: Recording of Phone Call
Keywords: Spoilation; Sanctions
Key Insight: spoliation sanctions
Nature of Case: bankruptcy proceeding
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records
Keywords: spoliation, bad faith, inherent power to sanction, legal fees, intent to deprive
Key Insight: Defendant’s failure to preserve and produce ESI responsive to plantiffs’ discovery requests.
Nature of Case: unpaid wages and overtime claims collective action
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records, undecipherable codes, mobile device data, text messages
Keywords: adverse inference instruction, unintelligible, mockery of the orderly administration of justice
Key Insight: Fabricated evidence justified sanction of dismissing case
Nature of Case: fraud, breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: archived email
Keywords: spoliation, closely held corporation, fabricated emails
Key Insight: Due Diligence in searching for requested records and confirming non-existence was sufficient by Defendant to meet Plaintiff’s discovery request; perfect preservation was not required
Nature of Case: Negligence-car accident
Electronic Data Involved: Daily Driving Reports
Keywords: Preservation; Spoilation; Due Diligence
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