Key Insight: Predictive coding may be used to conserve time and expense where e-discovery expertise applied
Nature of Case: Embezzlement/Fraudulent Transfers Action
Electronic Data Involved: Backup storage tapes of exchange server containing tax-related information
Keywords: “computer-assisted review [tools]” “privileged or confidential information” “universe of documents”
Key Insight: Absent a search warrant, the Government may not turn a citizen’s cellphone into a tracking device.
Nature of Case: Drug Trafficking
Electronic Data Involved: cell site location information, cellphone location
Keywords: pings, cell phones, CSLI, cell site, pen register information
Key Insight: Plaintiff requested discovery from defendants parent company through defendant. Ability to obtain and control tests failed and motion was denied.
Nature of Case: nuisance, negligence
Electronic Data Involved: Various Discovery
Keywords: ability-to-obtain, control
Key Insight: Plaintiff was arrested while police pursuing his brother. Videos from car were mis-labeled and therefore destroyed. Plaintiff could not show bad faith, so no adverse inference instruction.
Nature of Case: civil rights
Electronic Data Involved: Police Car Videos
Keywords: adverse inference; sanctions; bad faith
Sunderland v. Suffolk Cty., No. CV 13-4838 (JFB)(AKT), 2016 WL 3264169 (E.D.N.Y. June 14, 2016)
In this civil rights action, the parties agreed upon search terms to identify responsive material but did not agree regarding the propriety of searching the Individual Defendants’ personal computers and email accounts. Concluding that responsive information located in the Individual Defendants’ personal repositories was within the scope of discovery, the court granted Plaintiff’s motion to compel the requested searches.
Key Insight: Sanctions for failure to preserve. Plaintiff did not issue a litigation hold until 23 months after reasonable anticipation of litigation.
Nature of Case: Legal malpractice
Electronic Data Involved: ESI destroyed under plaintiff’s record destruction policies: Backup tapes, routine deletion of emails, erasure of hard drives/email accounts.
Keywords: Preservation, spoliation sanctions, adverse inference charge, litigation hold.
Mitchell v. Reliable Sec., LLC, No. 1:15-cv-03814-AJB, 2016 WL 3093040 (N.D. Ga. May 23, 2016)
Addressing the parties’ dispute over the proper format of production—specifically, whether ESI should be produced in native format or PDF—the Court found Defendant failed to make an adequate showing that production of native files was cost prohibitive and that, in any event, Plaintiff had shown good cause, and ordered production of ESI in native format.
Key Insight: Preliminary injunction is granted when party sent trade secrets to themselves and opposing party may be irreparably harmed by usage of information
Nature of Case: Trade secret infringement
Electronic Data Involved: E-mails
Keywords: preliminary injunction, irreparable harm,
Key Insight: Asserting well supported objection against a relevant request.
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: social media accounts, and postings
Keywords: social media records, mental state, postings
Lifeguard Licensing Corp. v. Kozak, No. 15 Civ. 8459 (LGS)(JCF), 2016 WL 3144049 (S.D.N.Y. May 23, 2016)
In this intellectual property dispute, the court denied Defendants’ motion to compel Plaintiffs’ production of “discoverable information relevant to the defendants’ likely defenses and counterclaims” citing Defendants’ decision to move for dismissal without filing an answer to the Complaint and reasoning, among other things, that the “plain language” of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)—recently amended “so that discovery now extends only as far as information relevant to claims or defenses”—“does not provide for discovery of ‘likely,’ ‘anticipated,’ or ‘potential’ claims or defenses.”
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