Equivocal Demand Letters Did Not Trigger Duty to Preserve; No Duty To Run System-Wide Key Word Searches
Cache La Poudre Feeds, LLC v. Land O’ Lakes, Inc., 2007 WL 684001 (D. Colo. Mar. 2, 2007)
In this trademark infringement case, plaintiff sought various forms of relief for defendants’ alleged discovery violations, including the appointment of a special master (at defendants’ expense) who would be charged with evaluating defendants’ discovery production efforts and, if necessary, directing “completion of full and thorough efforts to locate and produce all documentation in all forms available.” Plaintiff also sought additional depositions on the issue of spoliation and attorneys fees and costs, among other things. The court denied most of the requests, but concluded that a $5,000 monetary sanction was appropriate based upon defendants’ failure to preserve the hard drives of departed employees and failure to confirm the accuracy and completeness of its discovery production.
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