Key Insight: which version of FRCP 37(e) should be applied where the issue was raised before the new version became effected but the motion was filed, whether after its effective date?
Nature of Case: employment
Electronic Data Involved: email
Keywords: adverse instruction, intent to deprive, duty to preserve, culpability, web hosting, relevance, prejudice
Key Insight: demand for irrelevant and disproportionate evidence
Nature of Case: breach of patent agreement
Electronic Data Involved: 300 GB emails
Keywords: irrelevant, patent infringement, reasonable limits on discovery
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Key Insight: Plaintiff produced two versions of email (both dated before filing). Defendant argued one was fake and an attempt to bolster Plaintiff’s claim. Court deemed that dismissal was too harsh a sanction and denied dismissal sanction request.
Nature of Case: Family Medical Leave Act Violations
Electronic Data Involved: E-Mails
Keywords: Duplicate E-mail; Dismissal Sanction
Key Insight: The onset of the duty under Rule 37(e) does not have to say which exact kind of litigation that will occur. Prejudice was not found, but the question of intent was pushed to later.
Nature of Case: Contract, copyright
Electronic Data Involved: records, documents, and logs of the company
Keywords: Spoliation, intent to deprive, sanctions, prejudice
Key Insight: Was the email account in question deleted with prejudice? Court found no prejudice, standard practice of deletion plus deletion was done a year before notice of legislation. Opinion however does not cite Rule 37(e)
Nature of Case: School charter renewal dispute/constitutional
Electronic Data Involved: Email account
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions
Key Insight: To what extent does disclosure of privileged documents to third parties waive privilege?
Nature of Case: Litigation for bad faith (Ohio law)
Electronic Data Involved: e-mails, deskfiles, and relevant shared e-documents
Keywords: Accidental waiver, third party disclosure, protected relationships
Key Insight: Court analyzed sanction request without determining if the footage was ESI, and without citing37(e). Court states that no spoliation occurred because there is no bad faith or notice of imminent legislation.
Nature of Case: 1983 legislation
Electronic Data Involved: Prison video surveillance
Keywords: spoliation, video,
Key Insight: failure to take reasonable steps to preserve data, prejudice to other party, intent to deprive
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: event recorder data: .dat file
Keywords: reasonable steps, adverse inference, relevance of data, event recorder, black box, laptop crash, prejudice, inferred intent to deprive
Key Insight: Plaintiff had kept a journal which was scanned and provided. Original Hard Copy was then destroyed. Judge granted motion for additional deposition time, but denied adverse inference instruction.
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination; Wrongful Termination
Electronic Data Involved: Hard Copy of Scanned Journal
Keywords: Sanctions, Adverse Inference, Scanned Copy, Hard Copy
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