Tag:Motion for Sanctions

Key Insight: Court found Target was at least grossly negligent for failing to preserve all portions of relevant surveillance footage (capturing Plaintiff?s fall and the surrounding circumstances) and thus imposed an adverse inference and monetary sanctions, but declined to strike Target?s answer or preclude use of the at-issue video excerpts and photographs

Nature of Case: Personal injury/slip and fall

Electronic Data Involved: Surveillance footage

Key Insight: In a case arising from a train passenger?s complaints regarding Plaintiff?s telephone conversation which the passenger found threatening and which resulted in Plaintiff?s arrest, the court found that the plaintiff had a duty to preserve the relevant cellular phone and that Defendants were prejudiced by its loss but declined to impose an adverse inference instruction for merely negligent spoliation (inadvertent loss) and instead barred Plaintiff from introducing evidence related to who he was talking to or what was said and allowed Defendants to present evidence regarding Plaintiff?s failure to preserve and argue ?whatever inference they hope the jury will draw?

Nature of Case: Claims arising from arrest where charges were later dismissed

Electronic Data Involved: Cellular phone

Key Insight: Court ordered spoliation sanctions for Plaintiff?s intentional destruction of materials related to his claim of copyright infringement at a time when he had a duty to preserve as evidenced by his actions to ?preserve? his work with the copyright office before the release of the allegedly infringing film (Kung Fu Panda) and his consultation with counsel; sanctions excluded evidence of Plaintiff?s 2008 copyright registration which was created with and relied upon evidence that had been destroyed

Nature of Case: Copyright Infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Hard copy documents, computer equipment and contents

Key Insight: Court found attorney?s duty to preserve was triggered upon receipt of correspondence terminating her representation but withheld judgment on issue of spoliation until hearing could be held

Nature of Case: Legal Malpractice

Electronic Data Involved: ESI, computers

Key Insight: Court imposed spoliation sanctions, including an adverse inference, for defendant?s deletion of a ?software library? despite a duty to preserve

Nature of Case: Copyright infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Software library

Key Insight: Court declined to impose spoliation sanctions for alleged failure to preserve ?the actual server and software system? allegedly utilized during the violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act where the defendant did not establish the relevance of the server or software system

Nature of Case: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Electronic Data Involved: Server and software system utilized by auction company at time of alleged violation by Defendant

Key Insight: Where Plaintiffs argued that Defendant?s document and preservation efforts were inadequate and briefed ?at long length several document production errors, general complications and litigation hold mishandling,? including incorrect volume estimates of documents produced by search terms, date discrepancies in metadata, and corrupt emails (among others) the court noted that Plaintiffs had not obtained a court order against Defendant or attempted to show that it acted in bad faith and found that the allegations did not rise to a level justifying appointment of an outside third party ediscovery auditor, but granted Plaintiffs? motion for depositions of certain document custodians regarding document production issues; court denied motion to require Defendant to recover all documents deleted by certain custodians, including from backup tapes, where the court found that Defendant ?carried out its duty to preserve documents in a manner commensurate with the likely scope and role of [Defendant?s] participation in future litigation? and noted that reasonable efforts do not require the preservation of ?every single scrap of paper?

Nature of Case: Antitrust

Electronic Data Involved: ESI