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
Key Insight: whether the US could discover communications and documents regarding a non-testifying expert’s valuation of IP in question
Nature of Case: intellectual property (IP)
Electronic Data Involved: e-mail, documents
Keywords: non-testifying expert
Identified Local Court Rule(s): RCFC 26(c); RCFC 45(d)(3)
Key Insight: relevance of search terms, proportionality
Nature of Case: breach of contract, trade secrets
Keywords: sanctions, motion to compel, search terms, third-party subpoenas, personal capacity, proportionality, attorney’s fees, current version, pending motion for protective order
Key Insight: Documents produced on eve of deposition allowed for second deposition; text messages of employees not unduly burdensome; Financials in PDF form were OK assuming they were native format
Nature of Case: Fraudulent Inducement
Electronic Data Involved: Excel Spreadsheets/PDF; Text Messages
Keywords: incomplete production; native production; Proportionality
Key Insight: spoliation, FRCP 37(e)
Nature of Case: Trademark infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: hard copy, email, other ESI
Keywords: oral litigation hold, duty to preserve, destroyed paper files, sanctions, legal hold, sufficient procedures, bad faith, relevance, rule amendment, server migration, negligence, bad faith, gross negligence
Key Insight: motion to compel supplemental discovery responses
Nature of Case: copyright infringement suit
Electronic Data Involved: “documents” “financial documents” “going back 30 years”
Keywords: waived privilege, clearly erroneous, motion to compel
Key Insight: requiring creation of new documents, proportionality
Nature of Case: breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: electronic records
Keywords: timeliness, relevance, raw data, create, creation of documents, cost-shifting, preclusion order
Identified Local Court Rule(s): Loc. Civ. R. 37.1
Key Insight: Defendant claimed reviewing 363,000 emails would be unduly burdensome. Court rules that even the expected responsiveness rate of between 8.3% and 15% meant it would be valuable. Court required defendant to review the emails and denied cost shifting requested by defendant.
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Email
Keywords: burdensome, responsiveness, proportionality
Key Insight: Discovery costs must be proportional to the amount in controversy ($20 million in dispute allows for at least $13,000 in discovery costs)
Nature of Case: Contract breach
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic documents/communications
Keywords: Backup tapes, proportionality, catastrophic failure
Key Insight: Broad requests by Plaintiff were narrowed by conference and court decision to time period during and after Defendant’s employment
Nature of Case: Misappropriation of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
Electronic Data Involved: E-mails and Documents
Keywords: proportionality, relevancy, time-limited
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