Carlson v. Jarousek, No. 2-15-1248, 20167243557 (Ill. App. Ct. Dec. 21, 2016)

Key Insight: In personal injury case, the trial court abused its discretion by ordering forensic imaging of ALL of Plaintiff?s devices, including his work computer which was owned by his employer, where, among other things, the appellate court determined that such a request ran ?counter to the traditional protocol of discovery, in which one party requests specific information and the other party searches its own files (and computers) to identify and produce responsive information?; where the computer was not directly involved in the cause of action; where there was no evidence of prior discovery violations; and where ?careful consideration of relevance and proportionality reveal[ed] that forensic imaging was not justified in this case? including because there were ?ample? alternative avenues for discovery (e.g, requests for admission, depositions) and because much of the information sought fell within the categories of ESI identified in Illinois to be presumptively not discoverable; the court also addressed Plaintiff?s privacy concerns

Nature of Case: Personal injury (appeal)

Electronic Data Involved: Forensic imaging of computers (including work computer)