2015 – Page 18 – Electronic Discovery Law

You Needn’t Keep Everything Forever: No Sanctions for Non-Party’s Failure to Produce because of Retention Policies, Technology Changes

Feb 12 2015

United Corp. v. Tutu Park Ltd., No. ST-2001-CV-361, 2015 WL 457853 (V.I. Jan. 28, 2015)

In December 2012, the court in this case issued a subpoena directing Kmart Corporation (“Kmart”) to produce twenty-one categories of documents and later granted Plaintiff’s motion to compel the same. Accordingly, Kmart produced responsive documentation, but not to Plaintiff’s satisfaction. Plaintiff thereafter moved for sanctions and for Kmart to be held in contempt. Concluding that Kmart made a reasonable attempt to provide responsive documentation, and acknowledging Kmart’s explanations for their inability to provide more, including the destruction of documents pursuant to their document retention policy and changes in technology, the court declined to impose sanctions or to hold Kmart in contempt.

For Delayed Production of Social Media and Other ESI, Court Declines to Shift Expert Costs, Awards Attorneys’ Fees; No Sanctions for Lost Text Messages

Feb 06 2015

Federico v. Lincoln Military Housing, LLC, No. 2:12-cv-80, 2014 WL 7447937 (E.D. Va. Dec. 31, 2014)

In this class action case involving consolidated claims for personal injury and property damage, Plaintiffs’ production of social media posts and other electronically stored information was significantly delayed and allegedly incomplete. The court declined to dismiss Plaintiffs’ case, however, where “a nearly complete record” was eventually produced, where the information was of “limited relevance” and where there was no showing of Plaintiffs’ bad faith. Instead, the court declined to allocate the $29,000 Plaintiffs spent for expert assistance and indicated it would award a portion of Defendants’ attorneys’ fees. For Plaintiffs’ failure to produce text messages, the court invoked Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e) and declined to impose any sanctions.

Applying Proportionality to Preservation, Court Grants Permission to Dispose of Computers

Jan 20 2015

Lord Abbett Mun. Income Fund., Inc v. Asami, No. C-12-03694 DMR, 2014 WL 5477639 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2014)

Following an order granting summary judgment in their favor, the “Board Member Defendants” notified the plaintiff that they would no longer contribute to the cost of storing 159 computers, but refused to consent to allowing Plaintiff to dispose of them, arguing that Plaintiff should be required to preserve the computers until “after the Ninth Circuit has ruled on its appeal and any trial has been completed.” The court declined to compel Plaintiff to bear the costs and burden of continuing to preserve, however, where discovery had closed, where there was no indication that the computers contained relevant information, and where the defendants had “numerous opportunities to test their belief that the computers may have evidentiary value, but [had] refused to act on them.”

State Bar of California Interim Opinion on Attorneys’ Duties in the “Handling of Discovery of [ESI]” – Comment Period Extended

Jan 15 2015

As was previously reported on this blog, here, the California State Bar Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (“COPRAC”) published Proposed Formal Opinion Interim No. 11-0004, addressing “ESI and Discovery Requests,” for public comment in Spring 2014. At its December meeting, COPRAC revised that opinion in response to public comment and approved an additional 90-day comment period, ending April 9, 2015.

For more information and for a full copy of the proposed formal opinion, click here.

Keeping You Informed: K&L Gates’ Third Annual “Under the Wire”

Jan 15 2015

e-DAT Partner Julie Anne Halter will speak at K&L Gates’ Third Annual “Under the Wire” CLE Seminar in Durham, NC (with videoconference broadcast in Charlotte) on January 22, 2015. Julie Anne’s presentation will address the “Latest and Greatest on e-Discovery.”

E-Discovery in 2015: Will You Feel The Earth Move Under Your Feet?

Jan 13 2015

By Daniel R. Miller, Bree Kelly

The civil litigation landscape is constantly changing as new laws are passed, new rules are promulgated, and new opinions are issued. As in the natural world, some areas are more prone to change than others, and the bedrock of discovery has significantly shifted in recent years. The rumblings began in earnest in the early part of this century, as judicial opinions began to address the significant challenges posed by the proliferation of electronic information in daily life. Then, in 2006, “the big one” hit, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to substantially address the discovery of electronically stored information (“ESI”). Eight years later, the aftershocks of that tremendous shake up continue and new fault lines have begun to emerge, providing clues—and warnings—as to where the next big shifts are likely to occur. In this article, we will identify some of those areas, including emerging standards of competence in electronic discovery, the pending amendments to the rules of civil procedure, and the continuing evolution of the use of technology in electronic discovery, and beyond.

To read the full article, click here.

2014 ABA Journal Blawg 100: We Won! (And Thanks for Voting!)

Jan 07 2015

We are proud to announce that we received the most votes in the ABA Journal Blawg 100’s Legal Tech category this year. We were honored to make the list and are very excited to win in our category!

As you may know, we have been blogging on the topic of e-discovery for more than ten years now, and receiving this recognition from our readers is incredibly rewarding. It is our sincere pleasure to provide this resource and we look forward to continuing this important work in the New Year, and beyond.

We would also like to say Congratulations to everyone in the 2014 Blawg 100; keep up the fantastic work!

Click here to read more about the ABA Journal’s Annual Blawg 100 list and to see the list of winners and nominees in each category.

Archive - 2015