Key Insight: Whether FRCP 37(e) applies where the duty to preserve does not arise out of the anticipation or conduct of litigation, whether sanctions issued under a court’s inherent power were appropriate
Nature of Case: False Claims Act
Electronic Data Involved: country of origin data
Keywords: Country of Origin documentation, adverse inference, Trade Agreements Act, inherent power, overwrite, direct proof or disproof
Key Insight: Defendant has inadequate production even when supplemented. Judge ordered meet-and-confer to work out some of the disagreements. Judge did not give either side sanctions.
Nature of Case: Breach of Contract; Consumer Fraud
Electronic Data Involved: E-mail; Electronic Database
Keywords: Meet-and-confer; Inadequate Production; Supplemental Production
Key Insight: Slow responses to discovery; withholding information; Discovery fraud
Nature of Case: Personal Injury
Electronic Data Involved: Not specifically stated “documents”
Keywords: Attorney Fees; Bad Faith; Withholding information; Misconduct; Sanctions must be compensatory not punitive; Court’s inherent authority; But-For test
Key Insight: Can discovery be given an expedited time table in order to precede a preliminary injunction hearing? Is it proportional?
Nature of Case: Legislation on violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
Electronic Data Involved: Depositions and documents (defined very broadly)
Keywords: Preliminary injunction, expedited discovery, proportionality, unduly burdensome
Key Insight: Arrest did not trigger a duty for defendants to preserve video of alleged beating before arrest
Nature of Case: Wrongful arrest
Electronic Data Involved: video, electronic photos
Keywords: triggering duty to preserve
Key Insight: A program to parse relevant data from an existing database may trump usual course of business format
Nature of Case: Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic list of wrong phone calls
Keywords: computer program, usual course of business,
Key Insight: Discovery of these things was blocked, since they were ruled to be only marginally relevant compared to the time and expense it would take to produce them.
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: emails and text messages
Keywords: relevance, marginal relevance, time and expense
Key Insight: Can the court order additional discovery if a party destroys evidence? Is a prejudice ruling required in a destruction of evidence case?
Nature of Case: Retaliation and discharge
Electronic Data Involved: text messages, emails, social media messages
Keywords: Prejudice, Destruction of evidence, Social media, Text messages
Key Insight: Plaintiff objected to discovery requests and added that it was withholding documents pursuant to this objection . Judge suggested a clearer response would have been preferred, but denied motion to compel.
Nature of Case: State Statute Constitutionality
Electronic Data Involved: ESI – Communications and Documents
Keywords: Objection; Withhold
Key Insight: defendant ordered to produce Salesforce “background data” without cost shifting
Nature of Case: wage and hour
Electronic Data Involved: salesforce “background data”
Keywords: background data; cost shifting; gap in records
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