Court Rejects Distinction between “Original Thumb Drives” and Forensic Images of the Same, Orders Production
Océ N. Am., Inc. v. MCS Servs., Inc., 2011 WL 197976 (D. Md. Jan. 20, 2011)
In this case, plaintiff sought to compel the production of forensic images of certain “flash” or “thumb” drives. The images were created by a neutral third-party expert upon agreement of the parties following defendant’s refusal to produce the drives for inspection. The original drives were then destroyed. Defendant objected to production, arguing that plaintiff had previously requested access to the thumb drives, but not the forensic images, thus attempting to draw a distinction between the two. The court rejected defendant’s argument reasoning that “if the original thumb drives were discoverable, Capsicum’s forensic images of the thumb drives must also be discoverable, and Océ need not propound a new discovery request for what amounts to the exact same information.”