Court Grants Motion to Compel, Orders Forensic Imaging of Defendants’ Computers
Weatherford U.S., L.P. v. Innis, No. 4:09-cv-061, 2011 WL 2174045 (D.N.D. June 2, 2011)
Plaintiff alleged that a former employee had downloaded its confidential information and used it to “jump start” his own competing company. Defendant Innis acknowledged that he had downloaded the information, but denied accessing or using it as plaintiff alleged. Forensic examination of the thumb drive containing the downloaded information contradicted his claims. Thereafter, plaintiff filed a motion to compel production of materials previously identified in a subpoena duces tecum and, “to minimize disruption to defendants’ operations and alleviate their concerns about the disclosure of privileged communications,” proposed that an expert of plaintiff’s choosing be allowed to image defendants’ computers at plaintiff’s expense, and that defendants be allowed to screen the imaged documents prior to their production. Citing Innis’s acknowledgment that he had copied plaintiff’s confidential information and evidence that he had accessed it thereafter, the court granted plaintiff’s motion to compel.