Key Insight: Sanctions for willful destruction of cell phone after receiving demand to preserve
Nature of Case: workplace discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: text messages
Keywords: spoliation, preservation of evidence, text messages, iCloud
Key Insight: The Stipulated Protective Order is too broad and is not consistent with the RCP
Nature of Case: Transgender/sex employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: confidential documents, Stipulated Protective Order
Keywords: Stipulated Protective Order, confidential, Rules of Civil Procedure
Key Insight: Whether deleted ESI and destroyed notebooks were relevant and, if so, whether there is sufficient evidence to find that spoliation was intentional or resulted in prejudice; whether sanction of reasonable costs is appropriate
Nature of Case: contract dispute
Electronic Data Involved: deleted e-mail, deleted electronic records, hard-copy notebooks
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions, notebook, litigation hold, bad faith, prejudice, deleted, legal hold, negligence, retention policy, backups
Key Insight: Deletion of files, destruction of evidence.
Nature of Case: Alleged defendant use of plaintiff’s trade-secret information
Electronic Data Involved: computer images
Keywords: destruction of evidence, forensic examination
Key Insight: No spoliation because no showing that “either Defendants or their counsel acted” with an “intent to deprive” merely that there was “confusion and ineptitude.”
Nature of Case: breach of licensing agreement
Electronic Data Involved: business laptop and several external drives
Keywords: intent to deprive, spoliation, evaluate the reasonableness of preservation efforts.
Key Insight: whether adverse inference is warranted
Nature of Case: workplace discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: text messages, email
Keywords: relevance, prejudice, obligation to preserve, intent to deprive, gross negligence, inherent authority, sanctions, spoliation, fees, costs, adverse inference, bad faith, willfully
Key Insight: Despite lack of sanctions due to the evidence being available in other ways, automatic deletion of emails is not best practice.
Nature of Case: Sexual harassment
Electronic Data Involved: Deleted Emails
Keywords: Automatic deletion, Susan Blood,
Key Insight: No spoliation when party removed URL link to software download because there was no bad faith and opponent already had software
Nature of Case: breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: URL, software
Keywords: URL removal, software download, bad faith spoliation
Key Insight: Spoliation of video evidence. Evidence must have existed and been in the control of a party.
Nature of Case: civil rights action
Electronic Data Involved: surveillance and taser video
Keywords: spoliation sanctions, multi-step analysis, Rule 37(e), routine retention policy.
Key Insight: whether sanction inappropriate absent bad faith
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: video footage
Keywords: surveillance footage, adverse inference, preservation letter, spoliation, Eleventh Circuit, prejudice, significant impairment, other available evidence
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