Key Insight: Intentional deletion of accounts does not lead to prejudice if the data is still accessible, but does lead to an adverse inference when the data is not
Nature of Case: Copyright infringement
Electronic Data Involved: “sock puppet” accounts and related data
Keywords: Sock puppet accounts, adverse inference, spoliation sanctions
Key Insight: Interference or concealment are not actionable under the tort
Nature of Case: Wrongful termination (sex discrimination), intentional interference/destruction of evidence tort
Keywords: independent tort, intentional interference
Key Insight: whether certain ESI production requests relating to ESI created both before and after a personal injury incident are proportional to the needs of the case
Nature of Case: personal injury, Jones Act
Electronic Data Involved: text messages, call logs, roaming data logs, phone account information, credit card transaction history, bank account transaction history
Keywords: “defendants are fishing”, ” balance of the benefits and burdens of these post-incident discovery requests are not in defendants’ favor”, “wheelhouse”
Key Insight: Attorney’s fees for unduly burdensome third party subpoenas are compensated
Nature of Case: Trusts and estates
Electronic Data Involved: Emails
Keywords: third party, subpoena, attorney’s fees, reimbursement, cost shifting
Key Insight: A ruling of prejudice requires specificity as to documents. Intent is required for 37(3) sanctions, but courts can reserve the right to impose a lesser sanction after seeing hope evidence is presented at trial.
Nature of Case: Employment dispute
Electronic Data Involved: e-mails
Keywords: Spoliation sanctions, prejudice, specificity
Key Insight: Spoliation sanctions must remedy the harm caused by the loss, and if documents are produced there is little loss
Nature of Case: Intellectual Property (Trade secrets)
Electronic Data Involved: E-mail
Keywords: Spoliation, sanctions
Key Insight: Boilerplate objections did not allow court to determine and defendants ordered to produce all documents withheld on basis of boilerplate objections.
Nature of Case: Copyright infringement
Electronic Data Involved: Financial Records, Responses to Questions
Keywords: boilerplate objections
Key Insight: A party’s late disclosure of evidence (while using it as the basis of their own expert opinion) justifies exclusion of that evidence
Nature of Case: Certified class action
Electronic Data Involved: audiovisual recordings, data logs
Keywords: late disclosure, exclusion sanctions, expert discovery cutoff, fact discovery, untimeliness
Key Insight: Plaintiff performed “factory reset” on phone, deleting videos; Plaintiff had sent to EEOC, but could not produce e-mail; Was not enough for sanction of dismissal
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Cell Phone Video
Keywords: Negligent Spoilation; Perjury; Sanctions
Key Insight: Non-party status is significant factor in proportionality analysis, must demonstrate ‘significant expense’ before receiving protection
Nature of Case: Racketeering, Consumer Protection
Electronic Data Involved: Deposition
Keywords: Deposition, transfer, removal, proportionality
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