Master Hand Contractors, Inc. v. Convent of the Sacred Heart of Chicago, No. 1-12-3788, 2013 WL 5940641 (Ill. App. Ct. Nov. 4, 2013)

Key Insight: Trial court did not err in dismissing mechanics lien case with prejudice as sanction for plaintiff’s failure to comply with its discovery obligations for approximately 18 months and its violations of seven orders of the court, including three expressly final deadlines to produce electronic discovery materials, as the trial court applied progressive discipline to coerce compliance and gave plaintiff ample opportunities to escape possible discovery sanctions; appellate court criticized plaintiff?s approach to the ESI request, ?under which the company owner — who called himself a ?computer idiot? in open court — self-selected emails relating to the Sacred Heart project instead of using a search tool to find them, and printed them out one at a time, all without supervision of counsel.?

Nature of Case: School building construction litigation

Electronic Data Involved: ESI, including email