Key Insight: Discovery request for managers’ text messages was ruled overbroad and not likely to be useful due to store policy that managers only communicate via email or voicemail.
Nature of Case: Fair Labor Standards Act dispute
Electronic Data Involved: text messages, email, communication methods the managers could have possibly used
Keywords: Text messages, overbreadth, overbroad, relevance
Key Insight: Social media information is not specially protected, but discovery requests should be tailored so as to not become fishing expeditions.
Nature of Case: employment discrimination, federal false claims act
Electronic Data Involved: Social media postings
Keywords: Social media, proportionality
Key Insight: Plaintiff requested Defendant run 72 “spelling variations” of 5 terms allowed by prior court order. Court denied and allowed 20, but did not apply sanctions yet.
Nature of Case: Libel/Slander
Electronic Data Involved: Various ESI
Keywords: search terms; sanctions; cooperation
Key Insight: personnel file related to settlement and claims handling was ordered to be produced with some confidentiality and redactions to protect personal information of adjuster.
Nature of Case: bad faith
Electronic Data Involved: adjusters personnel file
Keywords: personnel file
Key Insight: Compelling ESI prematurely is not needed if the records will be preserved throughout litigation
Nature of Case: malicious prosecution
Electronic Data Involved: emails, documents
Keywords: Scope of ESI search terms, willingness to produce
Key Insight: Plaintiff requested information related to outside counsel’s evaluation of claims. Court granted, but limited original request.
Nature of Case: Insurance breach of contract and bad faith
Electronic Data Involved: Various documents related to claims investigations; primarily related to outside counsel evaluations.
Keywords: scope; outside counsel; evaluation of claim
Key Insight: proportionality
Nature of Case: class action
Electronic Data Involved: backup tapes
Keywords: undue burden, statistical sampling, restoration, reasonably accessible, cooperation, interrogatory, relevance
Key Insight: How much access of a party’s electronic information system does rule 34(a) give a party?
Nature of Case: Trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: Responsive documents
Keywords: ESI protocol, Forensic images, overly broad
Key Insight: Defendants request for social media posts was too broad and needed to be even more specifically directed to claims in case.
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: Social Media Posts
Keywords: social media; scope
Key Insight: Plaintiffs sought to compel production of all emails sent to or from any of the Plaintiffs through a Percheron account. The Court found the emails were relevant because they may shed light on informal work policies, hours worked, and serve as a potential cross-reference to the other records kept by Defendant. Analyzing proportionality, the Court concluded that the importance of the issues (to the Plaintiffs), the amount in controversy (alleged to be ?in excess of several million dollars?), the resources of the parties, the parties? relative access to the information and the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues weighed in favor of Plaintiffs/production. Regarding whether the burden of discovery outweighed the benefit, the Court acknowledged Defendant?s claim that the review ?would likely cost $735,000-$798,964 and take a team of 20 attorneys 12 weeks to complete,? but reasoned that the Court?s refusal to compel production of certain email categories would lessen the estimated costs and that Defendant?s inability to provide certain data had caused Plaintiffs to have to ?puzzle together damages? and concluded that the request did not ?run afoul? of proportionality. The court also relied on Defendants prior agreement to produce the emails. Addressing Plaintiffs? motion to compel information regarding Defendant?s preservation efforts, the court ordered production of the names of those that received litigation holds and related information, but declined to order the litigation holds themselves.
Nature of Case: Fair Labor Standards Act
Electronic Data Involved: Emails, Information re: litigation hold notices
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