Orchestrate HR, Inc. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc. (D. Kan. 2022)
Key Insight: The Magistrate denied defendant’s motion to add plaintiffs outside counsel as a list of documents custodians for ESI discovery purposes. The court noted that relatively little legal authority exists on the standards to apply when parties cannot agree on designated ESI custodians. Relying on the limited legal authority and The Sedona Principles, the court noted as follows: (1) determining what is relevant and proportional is a highly fact-specific inquiry; (2) absent agreement among the parties, the party responding to discovery requests is entitled to select the custodians it deems most likely to possess responsive information; (3) unless the party’s choice is unreasonable or results in a deficient production, the court should not dictate ESI custodians; and (4) the party seeking to compel the designation of a particular custodian has the initial burden to show that the disputed custodian’s ESI is relevant to the claims or defenses.
Nature of Case: Tort Claims
Electronic Data Involved: Email