Archive - February 2006

Treppel v. Biovail Corp., 2006 WL 278170 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 6, 2006)

In this case, plaintiff alleged that Biovail Corp., its general counsel and certain others engaged in a “smear campaign” that destroyed plaintiff’s career as a securities analyst. He asserted claims of defamation, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff moved for an order compelling defendants to: (a) preserve all potentially discoverable data, whether maintained in electronic or paper form; (b) answer a range of questions concerning their electronic data management practices; and (c) produce all accessible data and documents responsive to his First Request for Production of Documents. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis denied the motion as to the preservation order, but granted the other relief requested. Read More

E & J Gallo Winery v. Encana Energy Servs., Inc., 2005 WL 3709885 (E.D. Cal. July 5, 2005)

In this action alleging natural gas price fixing, plaintiff sought severe sanctions against certain defendants and their counsel for taking actions which plaintiff claimed resulted in the cancellation of a third-party witness deposition set by plaintiff. The magistrate ultimately rejected the heavy sanctions requested by Gallo, finding that a further monetary sanction against the defendants’ law firm was in order. It imposed a $102,078.97 sanction against Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, with $92,078.97 to be paid to Gallo to defray its fees and expenses to pursue the sanctions motion, and $10,000 to be paid to the court. Read More

Gilliam v. Addicts Rehab. Ctr. Fund, Inc., 2006 WL 228874 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2006)

In this class action alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, defendants identified 148 compact discs containing information responsive to plaintiffs’ requests for certain records. The discs contained payroll and timekeeping records for approximately 150 employees, and also contained personal information, including health, credit, and family information about those employees. Read More

In re Universal Serv. Fund Tel. Billing Practices Litig., 232 F.R.D. 669 (D. Kan. 2005)

In this multidistrict litigation consisting of numerous putative class actions against AT&T Corporation and Sprint Communications Company, plaintiffs moved to compel AT&T to produce documents that had been withheld on a claim of attorney/client privilege. The motion was referred to a magistrate judge, who ordered AT&T to produce copies of the 35 documents at issue for an in camera review, and provide more information with regard to those persons sending and receiving, including receipt of courtesy copies, the emails listed on the privilege log. Read More