Key Insight: Defendant’s failure to preserve integrity of computer (dropping it repeatedly and apparent tampering, including disconnecting internal cables prior to court-ordered inspection) and failure to produce responsive electronic material warranted monetary sanctions
Nature of Case: Misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: Hard drive, deleted files, electronically stored invoices
Key Insight: Following additional briefing by parties on attorneys’ fees and adverse inference instruction, magistrate awarded plaintiff $563,843 in fees and $2,998 in costs for its counsel’s efforts on sanctions motion and to secure discovery and crafted jury instruction based upon that adopted in Zubulake V
Nature of Case: Patent infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Appellate court ruled that trial court did not err in awarding sanctions and finding defendant in civil contempt where, moments before he signed settlement agreement and in violation of discovery preservation order, defendant deleted files from laptop that was to be returned to plaintiff; however, case would be remanded so that trial court could determine what amount of attorneys’ fees fairly reflect compensation for defendant’s contumacious conduct
Nature of Case: Copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: Files stored on laptop computer
Key Insight: No abuse of discretion for trial court to strike defendant’s answer and enter judgment for plaintiff on issue of liability, where defendant reformatted computer’s hard drive, effectively erasing any information the computer may have contained, a day before surrendering it for court-ordered inspection
Nature of Case: Dispute between former business partners
Electronic Data Involved: Laptop
Key Insight: Finding defendant’s actions went “far beyond mere negligence, demonstrating knowing and intentional conduct that led to the nonproduction of all technical e-mails,” district court affirmed the spoliation inference jury instruction and monetary sanctions imposed by magistrate
Nature of Case: Patent infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Key Insight: Plaintiff?s discovery misconduct, including disregard of discovery obligations, misleading statements regarding existence and location of evidence and failure to make reasonable inquiries, warranted sanctions in the form of costs and reasonable attorneys? fees expended by defendant in connection with sanctions motion and certain discovery events
Nature of Case: Insurance coverage
Electronic Data Involved: Email and hard drives
Key Insight: Based on in camera review, court granted defendant’s motion to compel based on the crime/fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege, ordered production of other documents on same subject matter and further ruled that discovery would be allowed regarding documents produced and on the issue of sanctions
Nature of Case: Patent infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Email, backup tapes
Key Insight: Plaintiff’s misconduct and discovery abuse (including obtaining email and proprietary information of employer, paying for such material, copying and using material to prepare case, and engaging in elaborate series of lies during depositions and evidentiary hearings re same) warranted dismissal with prejudice
Nature of Case: Employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: CDs and laptop computer hard drive
Key Insight: Court granted emergency motion to compel, requiring defendants to appear for deposition and produce computers for inspection by plaintiff’s computer forensics expert; at subsequent bench trial, in light of defendants’ deletion of data from computers after litigation commenced, repeated defragmentation of hard drives prior to court-ordered inspections, and decision not to offer any testimony to explain same, court drew adverse inference; court awarded plaintiff $100,000 as royalty for defendants’ unauthorized use of trade secrets, and $150,000 in punitive damages for the willful and malicious misappropriation of trade secrets and attempted cover-up
Nature of Case: Manufacturer sued former employee and competitor for misappropriation of trade secrets and related torts
Electronic Data Involved: Software and databases containing sales and customer information
Key Insight: Despite dismissal of all plaintiffs’ claims and entry of final judgment on the merits, court retained ancillary jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions for spoliation of electronic evidence for purpose of holding a hearing before ruling on the motion
Nature of Case: Securities class action
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic evidence
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