Case Summaries – Page 400 – Electronic Discovery Law

Smith v. Texaco Inc., 951 F. Supp. 109 (E.D. Tex. 1997)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Defendant’s motion to dissolve TRO requiring preservation of documents and electronic data denied, however, “to mitigate the high costs associated with electronic document storage, the court will permit defendants to delete electronic records in the ordinary and usual course of business; provided, however, that hard copy records be made and kept of any and all [relevant] electronic records . . .”

Nature of Case: Race discrimination

Electronic Data Involved: Unspecified human resources records, payroll records

Tempco Elec. Heater Corp. v. Temperature Eng’g Co., 2004 WL 1254134 (N.D. Ill. June 3, 2004)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Since plaintiff elected not to conduct its own inspection of defendant’s hard drives, it could not avoid summary judgment on misappropriation of trade secrets claim by merely speculating about the presence of trade secret material on defendant’s computers, when defendant?s (admittedly cursory) inspection turned up no trade secret material

Nature of Case: Trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, contract breach

Electronic Data Involved: Hard drives

United States v. Rigas, 281 F. Supp. 2d 733 (S.D.N.Y. 2003)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Court ruled that no work product waiver occurred when entire computer network account of USAO paralegal was inadvertently copied onto working copy of hard drive held by prosecution as evidence and made available to defense; defense motion to retain privileged documents denied

Nature of Case: Criminal charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud

Electronic Data Involved: Privileged documents on computer hard drive

In re Worldcom, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2004 WL 768573 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 12, 2004)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Court granted underwriter defendants’ motion for extension to complete production of certain electronic discovery but advised that, should they fail to meet this schedule, plaintiffs could request to be relieved of their obligation to share expenses in the production of electronic discovery; further, defendants to conduct additional electronic discovery searches for nine more custodians

Nature of Case: Securities class action

Electronic Data Involved: Electronic discovery

Ferrari v. Gisch, 225 F.R.D. 599 (C.D. Cal. 2004)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Where statute specifically imposed a duty on defendants to preserve evidence, and defendants represented they had complied and will comply with the statute, and plaintiffs adduced no evidence of non-compliance, court declined to enter an order mandating the preservation of evidence

Nature of Case: Securities fraud class action

Electronic Data Involved: All relevant documents, data compilations and tangible things

In the Matter of Certain Network Interface Cards, 2001 WL 1217233 (U.S.I.T.C. Oct. 12, 2001)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Where there were gaps in plaintiff’s production of email, administrative law judge granted motion to compel production of email from plaintiff’s backup tapes but ordered parties to share the costs of such production

Nature of Case: Case before the U.S. International Trade Commission

Electronic Data Involved: Email

Network Computing Servs. Corp. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 223 F.R.D. 392 (D.S.C. 2004)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Concluding that plaintiff’s discovery abuse warranted sanctions, district court ruled that appropriate sanction would be to inform the jury about plaintiff’s misconduct, since monetary sanctions previously imposed had not deterred further misconduct and extreme sanction of dismissal was not warranted by the facts

Electronic Data Involved: Breach of distributorship agreement, fraud, unfair trade practices and related torts

Bertsch v. Duemeland, 639 N.W.2d 455 (N.D. 2002)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Plaintiff denied access to hard drives of computers acquired by defendant after alleged torts took place

Nature of Case: Tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, defamation

Electronic Data Involved: Hard drives (to locate email)

Cobell v. Norton, 206 F.R.D. 324 (D.D.C. 2002)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Government’s motion for “protective order clarifying that it may produce email in response to discovery requests by producing from paper records of email messages rather than from backup tapes and may overwrite backup tapes in accordance with Departmental directives” denied as inappropriate given history of dispute; plaintiffs awarded attorneys’ fees and costs associated with motion

Nature of Case: Suit against the government alleging mismanagement of Indian trust funds

Electronic Data Involved: Email stored on backup tapes

Deloach v. Philip Morris Co., 206 F.R.D. 568 (M.D.N.C. 2002)

Dec 01 2004

Key Insight: Where defendant withheld computerized data and defense expert subsequently used data in rebuttal report, court allowed plaintiffs the opportunity to respond to defendants’ rebuttal expert report, and ruled that defendants would not be allowed opportunity to reply to plaintiffs’ response to the withheld information

Nature of Case: Antitrust

Electronic Data Involved: Computerized transaction data

Catagory:Case Summaries