Key Insight: Applying the former version of Rule 37(e), because the current version is not retroactive, there is no duty to preserve regularly overwritten business audio recordings absent notice to do so.
Nature of Case: Many, including unlawful arrest
Electronic Data Involved: telephone recordings and video and audio
Keywords: duty to preserve, spoliation sanctions,
Key Insight: whether missing evidence is crucial to movant’s case, whether non-movant had intent to deprive
Nature of Case: employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: hard copy, email
Keywords: duty to preserve, litigation hold, permissible inference, bad faith
Key Insight: Not organizing surveillance videos so that they could be promptly located was not found to be an “intent to deprive”
Nature of Case: Civil rights
Electronic Data Involved: Video
Keywords: video, intent, spoliation sanctions
Key Insight: Failure to address standards for spoliation of ESI, no showing of entitlement to adverse inference instruction.
Nature of Case: defamation
Electronic Data Involved: AGGIS and Cybersource systems
Keywords: adverse inference instruction
Key Insight: which version of FRCP 37(e) should be applied where the issue was raised before the new version became effected but the motion was filed, whether after its effective date?
Nature of Case: employment
Electronic Data Involved: email
Keywords: adverse instruction, intent to deprive, duty to preserve, culpability, web hosting, relevance, prejudice
Key Insight: Plaintiff produced two versions of email (both dated before filing). Defendant argued one was fake and an attempt to bolster Plaintiff’s claim. Court deemed that dismissal was too harsh a sanction and denied dismissal sanction request.
Nature of Case: Family Medical Leave Act Violations
Electronic Data Involved: E-Mails
Keywords: Duplicate E-mail; Dismissal Sanction
Key Insight: The onset of the duty under Rule 37(e) does not have to say which exact kind of litigation that will occur. Prejudice was not found, but the question of intent was pushed to later.
Nature of Case: Contract, copyright
Electronic Data Involved: records, documents, and logs of the company
Keywords: Spoliation, intent to deprive, sanctions, prejudice
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: Plaintiff had kept a journal which was scanned and provided. Original Hard Copy was then destroyed. Judge granted motion for additional deposition time, but denied adverse inference instruction.
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination; Wrongful Termination
Electronic Data Involved: Hard Copy of Scanned Journal
Keywords: Sanctions, Adverse Inference, Scanned Copy, Hard Copy
Key Insight: Defendant’s failure to preserve the relevant ESI.
Nature of Case: Motor vehicle accident
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic Data/Electronic Control Module (ECM) Vehicle Data Recorder/Black Box and associated data.
Keywords: Spoliation, ECM data
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