Key Insight: Providing a document index is not overly burdensome. Production of metadata cannot be compelled without showing that metadata is relevant..
Nature of Case: violation of civil rights as a landowner
Electronic Data Involved: metadata, electronically stored data, document index
Keywords: adequacy of production, metadata relevancy
Key Insight: confidential settlement information in documents requested
Nature of Case: Negligence and breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: communications between Amex Nooter and IOSHA
Keywords: Confidential Settlement information, motion to compel, impeachment
Key Insight: Discovery, metadata associated with electronic information
Nature of Case: Modification of the Court Order – Motion to Compel
Electronic Data Involved: Court order granted, plaintiff is not required to produce metadata.
Keywords: metadata, electronic information, request for production of documents, order
Key Insight: forensic imaging of USB drive of handwritten notes and reopening of deposition for questioning regarding the notes
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: handwritten notes from plantiff
Keywords: delaying tactics, reopening deposition, disclosure of evidence at deposition, relevancy
Key Insight: are the defendants acting in bad faith by not confirming that evidence doesn’t exist or was it not preserved, in that case is it sanctionable
Nature of Case: violation of Securities act, violation of the exchange act and rule 10b-5, unregistered securities offerings
Electronic Data Involved: “back office data” information as to whether defendants explored public offering
Keywords: bad faith, sanctions, spoliation, public offering
Key Insight: personnel files are not maintained by the custodian, they are maintained by HR and contain personal information and are not discoverable
Nature of Case: products liability
Electronic Data Involved: employee personnel files of people that plaintiffs want to depose
Keywords: discoverability, relevancy, personnel files
Key Insight: if sanctions can be granted for inconsistent and incomplete response from opposing party
Nature of Case: violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law
Electronic Data Involved: initial interrogatories and verifications
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions, default judgment, defunct business, unreachable party
Key Insight: Circuit Court denied petition for certiorari relief to quash Trial Court order compelling discovery of photographs from Plaintiff?s Facebook account, finding no departure from the essential requirements of law, because the photographs were ?powerfully relevant to the damage issues in the lawsuit,? Plaintiff?s privacy interest in them were minimal because ?photographs posted on a social networking site are neither privileged nor protected by any right of privacy, regardless of any privacy settings that the user may have established,? and the Stored Communications Act ?does not apply to individuals who the use the communications services provided.?
Nature of Case: Personal Injury
Electronic Data Involved: Facebook/social media photographs
Key Insight: Court declined to compel production of log in information and all Facebook information posted since the underlying accident but granted the motion in part and compelled the production of certain categories of information to be identified by a review of Plaintiff?s account by his counsel; courts also ordered submission of sworn declaration that all such information was produced and that counsel ensured preservation of the Facebook materials lest a dispute arise in future
Nature of Case: Personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: Social Media
Key Insight: Where Defendant initially produced material safety data sheets in TIFF format and later in hard copy but Plaintiff complained they were ?extremely difficult? to utilize because of the number of duplicates, the ?absence of organization? and the small font size (despite having relied upon the productions for purposes of summary judgment), court was swayed by Plaintiff?s expert?s articulation regarding the lack of burden rather than Defendant?s vague attestations of the burden of reproduction and, reasoning that Plaintiff had not produced all of the information requested in its initial production (e.g., certain data fields from the database in which the material safety data sheets were maintained) and that the prior productions were in a form that degraded searchability, ordered reproduction of the requested information i.e., ?all data and information maintained in [Defendant?s] databases relating to the MSDS and all data inputted by [Defendant] concerning the same, in an electronic, organized and usable format.?
Nature of Case: FLSA
Electronic Data Involved: Contents of database
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