Tag:Taxable Costs

Key Insight: Court rejected reasoning that ESI-related costs were recoverable because ?the parties in this case agreed ? to the form of production for ESI? and found that ?the parties? stipulation regarding the production of ESI cannot make ESI-related costs ?necessary? ? unless the costs are copying costs? which the court was unable to discern from Plaintiff?s submission and thus the court declined to tax the ESI-related costs requested; court?s analysis noted 4th Circuit precedent indicating that ?making copies for purposes of cost recovery ? is expressly limited to the cost of converting native files to non-editable formats and copying those files onto discs.?

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs

Key Insight: Cost of converting native email and other native files into imaged format for purposes of production was one of many items considered by the court in defendant?s application for costs following grant of summary judgment. Despite plaintiffs argument that the requested expenses should only be approved if they pertain to documents actually produced to Plaintiff, court was satisfied with defendant?s explanation that the costs were ?actually and necessarily incurred in responding to the Plaintiff?s discovery demands? and allowed recovery of defendant?s tiffing costs, even though Defendant could not ?state with certainty whether every document that was converted was actually turned over to Plaintiff as being responsive to a particular demand.?

Nature of Case: Breach of contract

Electronic Data Involved: Imaged native files

Key Insight: Court declined to allow recovery for ?electronic discovery vendor fees? because they are ?outside the scope of Section 1920? (28 U.S.C. 1920)

Nature of Case: Copyright infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable Costs

Key Insight: Costs generically described as ?discovery services? and broken down as ?Active Hosting,? ?Nearline Hosting,? and ?User Access Fee? were denied where the generic descriptions were insufficient to meet the standard for specificity in the Ninth Circuit and where the descriptions failed to indicate that the fees were incurred for making copies

Electronic Data Involved: ESI (Taxable costs under 1920(4))

Key Insight: Where Defendant sought to recover for emails and other ESI compiled by Plaintiff?s expert as ?copying costs? (specifically, Defendant sought ?recovery to produce emails as part of discovery and to obtain already compiled electronic data to support its Daubert motion to exclude Dr. Bradley?s testimony, characterizing them as ?digital copies? necessarily obtained for use in the case?), court reasoned that the costs did not ?relate to a deposition transcript or a true ?digital copy,?? that ?creating an electronic database/compilation or enhanced digital files ?goes well beyond the statutory intent? for taxable digital copies,? and that Defendant had not explained how the data was ?necessarily obtained for use in the case rather than the convenience of counsel? and denied the request

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs

Key Insight: Court sustained objection to award of costs for ?monthly expenses associated with maintaining a database of electronically stored information used to locate, retrieve, and store the plaintiffs? emails.?

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs

Key Insight: Following discussion of prior decisions in the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th and federal circuit courts, the District Court adopted ?the [Third Circuit?s] Race Tires approach, with the caveat that the costs of copying metadata and hard drives be included for reasons stated well [by the Federal Circuit and the Sixth Circuit] in CBT Flint and Colosi? and reduced the award of costs related to e-Discovery ?to include only costs for Bates stamping, shipping and delivery of electronic documents, native file and email conversions, and TIFF image creation and conversion?

Nature of Case: Patent Infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs of e-Discovery

Key Insight: Appellate court found no abuse of discretion for award of conversion and character recognition costs where Defendant attested that the costs were necessarily incurred and did not request all costs related to electronic discovery and where the objecting party failed to itemize which costs it claimed were not permissible or provide an explanation of why they were not covered by the statute

Nature of Case: Qui tam; FCA (costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1920 (4))

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

Key Insight: Court allowed taxable costs for ?the scanning and conversion of documents into TIFF format? noting that the conversion was ?critical due to the complex nature of the case and the sheer volume of documents that were exchanged during discovery and trial? and citing Race Tires Am., Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp., 674 F.3d 158, 160, 171 (3d Cir.2012)

Nature of Case: Consolidated claims under Hatch-Waxman Act

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable Costs

Key Insight: District Judge adopted in toto recommendations of the Magistrate Judge, including approval of costs related to converting ESI into a reasonable format, where the conversion was requested by an opposing party and ultimately ordered by the court

Electronic Data Involved: ESI