Key Insight: spoliation sanctions
Nature of Case: bankruptcy proceeding
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records
Keywords: spoliation, bad faith, inherent power to sanction, legal fees, intent to deprive
Key Insight: Defendant’s failure to preserve and produce ESI responsive to plantiffs’ discovery requests.
Nature of Case: unpaid wages and overtime claims collective action
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records, undecipherable codes, mobile device data, text messages
Keywords: adverse inference instruction, unintelligible, mockery of the orderly administration of justice
Key Insight: Preservation orders should be commenced as soon as possible
Nature of Case: Discovery
Electronic Data Involved: E-mail
Keywords: Litigation hold, Preservation, Sanctions
Identified State Rule(s): North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure 26(g), 37(b)(2)
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: Spoliation instructions to jury were erroneous and the case was reversed and remanded for a new trial. No evidence of spoliation was presented at trial and hence spoliation instructions were improper. The Court also went on to discuss the spoliation evidence since it could arise in a new trial. The Court found no spoliation with regard to the deleted emails since Plaintiff?s deletion of emails occurred before she could have anticipated a lawsuit. The Court found that the disposal of Plaintiff?s laptop and sale of her desktop might be spoliation of evidence if there is reason to believe the deleted emails could be recovered from either computer?s hard drive. If Defendant can present evidence that the emails could have been recovered then the court may grant her an instruction on spoliation.
Nature of Case: Alienation of affections
Electronic Data Involved: Emails, hard drives
Key Insight: Defendant had moved business documents to personal dropbox. when terminated, these were deleted, but potentially restored. Plaintiff wanted re-access to confirm deletion. Defendant moved for dismissal and was denied as Plaintiff had plead enough facts to indicate documents still possibly available to Defendant.
Nature of Case: Breach of Contract; Conversion; Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
Electronic Data Involved: Personal Dropbox Containing Business Documents
Keywords: Motion to Dismiss; Access after employment
Key Insight: failure to take reasonable steps to preserve data, prejudice to other party, intent to deprive
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: event recorder data: .dat file
Keywords: reasonable steps, adverse inference, relevance of data, event recorder, black box, laptop crash, prejudice, inferred intent to deprive
Key Insight: Jury Instruction due to failure to preserve electronically stored information.
Nature of Case: Defamation
Electronic Data Involved: Web browser history, Internet browser
Keywords: Web browser history, Spoliation
Key Insight: Failure to promptly disclose false evidence
Nature of Case: misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: email
Keywords: sanctions, affidavit, post-complaint deletion, restoration
Identified State Rule(s): Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3(a)(3)
Key Insight: To what extent can a party be punished for spoliation under Rule 37(e)? How much does state of mind at the time of spoliation affect the sanction?
Nature of Case: Legal malpractice
Electronic Data Involved: e-mails, electronically-stored records
Keywords: Spoliation sanctions, innocence
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