Tag:Taxable Costs

Key Insight: Noting that ?courts have allowed parties to recover the costs of converting paper documents into electronic files where responsive discovery documents were produced in electronic format,? the court found that defendants could recover $68,829.60 and $24,102.39 respectively ?for creating electronic images of documents responsive to Relator?s discovery requests?

Nature of Case: False Claims Act

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs for ediscovery

Key Insight: Where defendant sought ?the cost of file conversion, Bates labeling, and storing electronic documents produced during litigation,? the clerk taxed only the ?cost of TIFF conversion . . . and the costs of making copies of original dvd?s and the original CD?

Nature of Case: Patent infringement

Electronic Data Involved: ESI Taxable costs

Key Insight: Court allowed recovery of costs in categories including, ? ?heavy litigation scanning,? bates labeling in electronic format . . . ?hourly tech time,? ?make 1 blowback set of all PDF files outside off [sic]folders; slipsheet with file name? but declined to allow recovery of ?OCR costs? absent evidence that the parties agreed to make documents searchable

Nature of Case: Taxable costs

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs

Key Insight: Court held that ?scanning documents and converting computer data into readable format constitute copying within the meaning of section 1920(4)? but that ?costs associated with storing ESI are not recoverable?

Nature of Case: Misappropriation of trade secrets

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs related to ESI

Key Insight: Magistrate Judge recommended the adoption of the approach of the Third Circuit in Race Tires Am. Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp., which limits the recoverable costs related to electronic discovery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ? 1920 and thus granted in part plaintiffs? motion to disallow costs

Nature of Case: Business tort claims

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs related to production of ESI

Key Insight: On appeal, the Third Circuit vacated the District Court?s approval of taxable costs related to electronic discovery and remanded with instruction to re-tax in accordance with this opinion. Specifically, the court concluded that the relevant vendors? charges ?would not qualify as fees for ?exemplification?? and that ?of the numerous services the vendors performed, only the scanning of hard copy documents, the conversion of native files to TIFF, and the transfer of VHS tapes to DVD involved ?copying?? and were thus recoverable.

Nature of Case: Antitrust

Electronic Data Involved: Vendor charges related to electronic discovery

Key Insight: Addressing taxable costs, court approved recovery of costs for scanning but, citing the Third Circuit decision in Race Tires Am. Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Corp., held that ?document collection, processing, and hosting? were not ?recoverable costs? and also held that, where the parties agreed that TIFF images were an acceptable form of production, but not required, the conversion was not ?necessarily obtained for use in the case? and thus related costs were not taxable under ? 1920; court indicated in footnote that had TIFF been the only agreed upon format of production, the outcome may have been different

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

Key Insight: District Court approved recovery of costs related to ?OCR Capture?

Nature of Case: Taxable costs

Electronic Data Involved: OCR

Key Insight: Plaintiff objected to Defendant?s bill of costs, including significant costs related to electronic discovery. Citing the recent decision of the Third Circuit in Race Tires America., Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire, Corp., the court reduced Defendant?s request for e-discovery costs from $447,694.63 to $2,721.53.

Nature of Case: Patent infringement

Electronic Data Involved: Taxable costs related to ediscovery