Inspection – Page 17 – Electronic Discovery Law

In re Search of 3817 W. West End, 321 F. Supp. 2d 953 (N.D. Ill. 2004)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Government required to submit a proposed protocol for searching the contents of seized computer hard drive and disks before it could conduct any search; court observed that government essentially sought “a license to roam through everything in the computer without limitation and without standards,” and that such a request failed to satisfy the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment

Nature of Case: Suspected tax fraud

Electronic Data Involved: Computer hard drive and computer disks

Dikeman v. Mary A. Stearns, P.C., 560 S.E.2d 115 (Ga. Ct. App. 2002)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Former client’s discovery requests, including request for hard drives of lawyer’s computers that had generated documents pertaining to client, were overbroad, oppressive and annoying

Nature of Case: Fee dispute between lawyer and former client

Electronic Data Involved: Computer hard drive

Sega Enterprises, Ltd. v. MAPHIA, 948 F. Supp. 923 (N.D. Cal. 1996)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Brief reference to court’s granting plaintiff’s requested ex parte TRO and seizure order to seize computers and hardware, copy memory, and delete pirated software before returning items to defendant

Nature of Case: Copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition

Electronic Data Involved: Hard drives and memory devices (video game software)

First Tech. Safety Sys., Inc. v. Depinet, 11 F.3d 641 (6th Cir. 1993)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Ex parte order permitting plaintiff and its counsel, with U.S. Marshal, to enter defendants’ business premises and inventory and impound computer records and copy and inventory business records was abuse of discretion

Nature of Case: Crash test dummy manufacturer sued competitor for unfair competition, copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets and related torts

Electronic Data Involved: Computer programs and printouts

S. Diagnostic Assoc. v. Bencosme, 833 So.2d 801 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Appellate court granted writ and quashed trial court’s order granting party’s motion for leave to inspect non-party’s computer system; remanded with directions to trial court to craft a narrowly-tailored order that sets parameters and limitations on the inspection

Nature of Case: Insurance bad faith

Electronic Data Involved: Computer system; records of payments to physicians

First USA Bank, N.A. v. Paypal, Inc., 76 Fed.Appx. 935, 2003 WL 22071558 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 21, 2003)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Former CEO of defendant subpoenaed and ordered to appear for deposition and produce his laptop computer for forensic inspection pursuant to court’s approved search protocol; CEO’s appeal of the nonfinal interlocutory order was dismissed

Nature of Case: Patent infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Laptop

Strasser v. Yalamanchi, 669 So.2d 1142 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Order allowing plaintiff unrestricted access to defendant’s computer system quashed, because the order allowed plaintiff unrestricted access to defendant’s computer system, including all of his programs and directories, without protection for any privileged or confidential information and without safeguards or restrictions to minimize any potential harm to the computer system

Nature of Case: Breach of contract suit between former partners

Electronic Data Involved: Inspection of computer system to search for financial information

In re Grand Jury Subpoena Dated June 30, 2003, 770 N.Y.S.2d 568 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2003)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: DA’s application to compel witnesses to answer questions granted: attorney/client privilege did not preclude attorneys representing individuals connected to events surrounding homicide from answering questions about laptop that was instrumentality of crime

Nature of Case: Grand jury proceedings investigating homicide

Electronic Data Involved: Laptop

Strasser v. Yalamanchi, 783 So.2d 1087 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Affirming jury award for plaintiff, where plaintiff had been permitted to add claim for negligent destruction of evidence based on defendant’s failure to preserve electronic records and computer hard drive, court found no error in allowing plaintiff to introduce at trial evidence of defendant’s discovery misconduct. Court further concluded that strong statements of disapproval of defendant’s discovery abuses did not require trial judge’s recusal.

Nature of Case: Breach of contract suit between former partners

Electronic Data Involved: Computer hard drive

In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum Dated Nov. 15, 1993, 846 F. Supp. 11 (S.D.N.Y. 1994)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Grand jury subpoena demanding production of all computer hard drives and disks of specified individuals (as opposed to specified categories of information) quashed because it was unreasonably broad

Nature of Case: Grand jury proceedings

Electronic Data Involved: Computer hard drives and floppy diskettes

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