March 2005 – Page 2 – Electronic Discovery Law

Highlights (Day 1) from the Third Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Mar 08 2005

On February 11-12, 2005 in Washington D.C., the Civil Rules Advisory Committee heard testimony from over 45 witnesses. This was the third and final set of public hearings on the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure relating to electronic discovery. Following are some highlights of the testimony from day one of the hearing, when the committee heard from over 30 witnesses. The complete testimony for this hearing, and the previous hearings, can be found here. Read More

E-discovery issues present challenges in court cases

Mar 07 2005

In an article appearing in the February 18-24 issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal, Martha Dawson points out that case law regarding e-discovery is slow to develop and often confusing. Additionally, federal guidelines that apply to document discovery were originally drafted in 1939 prior to today’s computer environment. In the article, she discusses several issues under consideration as part of efforts to modernize e-discovery definitions and methodology within federal rules. Click here to view a .pdf of the article.

Magistrate Recommends Combination of Remedial Measures for “Excruciatingly Slow and Disjointed Disclosure of Documents”

Mar 02 2005

Lava Trading, Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 2005 WL 459267 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2005)

At the conclusion of discovery, defendant moved for the imposition of sanctions on plaintiff, contending that plaintiff had systematically ignored its discovery obligations under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, violated a series of court orders directing it to produce documents within specified deadlines, and irremediably prejudiced defendant’s ability to prepare its case. Defendant sought dismissal of the complaint, or, in the alternative, an order (1) precluding plaintiff from presenting evidence on a series of specific topics, (2) authorizing defendant to place in evidence a quantity of emails produced in an untimely fashion by plaintiff and (3) requiring plaintiff to reimburse defendant for the costs of one deposition session and its current motion. Read More

Magistrate Recommends Adverse Inference Instruction and Monetary Sanctions for Failure to Preserve Hard Drives, Audio Recordings and Email

Mar 01 2005

E*Trade Securities LLC v. Deutsche Bank AG, et al., Civil No. 02-3711 RHK/AJB and Civil No. 02-3682 RHK/AJB (D. Minn. Feb. 17, 2005)

United States Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan filed a Report and Recommendation regarding several electronic discovery disputes arising in a case where plaintiffs claim that defendants engaged in a fraudulent securities lending scheme. Two plaintiffs moved for sanctions based on certain defendants’ alleged spoliation of evidence and failure to conduct a reasonable inquiry in response to discovery requests; defendants opposed the sanctions motion and moved for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. The judge recommended that the plaintiffs’ motions for sanctions be granted and that defendants’ motion be denied. Read More

Archive - March 2005