Tag:Keyword Search

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Procom Heating, Inc. v. GHP Group, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-00163-GNS, 2016 WL 8203221 (W.D. Ky. July 8, 2016)
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In re Fluoroquinolone Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL. No. 15-2642 (JRT), 2016 WL 4045414 (D. Minn. July 20, 2016)
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Colonial Bancgroup, Inc. v. Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP., No. 2:11-cv-746-WKW, 2016 WL 9687001 (M.D. Ala. Jan. 22, 2016)
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Venturedyne v. Carbonyx (ND Ind., 2016)
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Johnson v. Serenity Transportation, Inc. (ND Cal, 2016)
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In re Viagra Products Liability Litigation (N.D. Cal., 2016)
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First Niagara Risk Management, Inc. v. Folino, No. 16-1779 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 11, 2016).
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Saller v. QVC, Inc. (ED Pa., 2016)
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AVM Technologies LLC v. Intel Corp. (D. Del., 2016)
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H.M. Elecs., Inc. v. R.F. Techs., Inc., No. 12cv28840-BAS-MDD, 2015 WL 4714908 (S.D. cal. Aug. 7, 2015)

Procom Heating, Inc. v. GHP Group, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-00163-GNS, 2016 WL 8203221 (W.D. Ky. July 8, 2016)

Key Insight: Where Defendant formulated search terms and identified custodians unilaterally before undertaking its search and where plaintiff suspected the results were insufficient based on both the low volume of information produced and the failure to produce certain expected information (based on third parties? productions), the court considered Defendant?s multiple proposals for addressing the issue and determined that starting again, from scratch, was most appropriate; addressing whether the cost was disproportionate, court declined to characterize the costs as ?additional expense,? reasoning that Defendant ?should have resolved these issues before undertaking its unilateral search?

Nature of Case: Patent infringement

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

In re Fluoroquinolone Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL. No. 15-2642 (JRT), 2016 WL 4045414 (D. Minn. July 20, 2016)

Key Insight: Court ruled that defendants may, under the proportionality factors in 26(b)(1), limit their search to databases and central repositories rather than engage in custodial searches for all cases at the Defendant Fact Sheet (DFS) stage of the MDL due to the ?significant burden of the proposed custodial-file searches? and the less-than-certain benefits of such searches.? The Court noted Defendant?s acknowledgement that custodial searches would likely be ?warranted for a narrower group of cases at a later stage? and that plaintiffs were free to seek permission to engage in further discovery if information available in the structured databases was insufficient.

Nature of Case: Products Liability

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

Colonial Bancgroup, Inc. v. Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP., No. 2:11-cv-746-WKW, 2016 WL 9687001 (M.D. Ala. Jan. 22, 2016)

Key Insight: Where plaintiff sought production of specific folders from e-mail inboxes after defendant had already produced e-mails from those custodians as identified by keyword search terms r, the court found the request duplicative and denied plaintiff?s request. Where plaintiff sought to compel additional searches likely to capture information well beyond that to which plaintiff was entitled and resisted a compromise offer of running the searches with restrictive terms designed to weed out irrelevant information, the court granted the request for additional searches but also granted defendant?s request to include limiting terms to restrict the capture of irrelevant data. Where plaintiff requested a sworn affidavit detailing defendant?s litigation hold efforts including the ?specific actions? which hold notice recipients were directed to take and any enforcement efforts, the court agreed with defendant that specific actions and enforcement efforts were subject to attorney-client privilege but directed plaintiff to ?provide this information via ?sworn affidavit? in a manner which, does not invoke the work product doctrine or violate the attorney-client privilege OR to make a specific legal and factual showing [] as to any work product objection or attorney-client privilege claim? and also ordered production of the other requested information, including custodian names and document types subject to the hold.

Nature of Case: Professional Negligence

Electronic Data Involved: e-mail

Venturedyne v. Carbonyx (ND Ind., 2016)

Key Insight: Specific metrics needed to object to the burden of a key-word search. Defendant objected to document requests on relevancy grounds.

Nature of Case: Contract breach.

Electronic Data Involved: Key-word search of ESI.

Keywords: Cooperation and the negotiation of keywords. Transparency in all aspects of preservation and production of ESI.

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Johnson v. Serenity Transportation, Inc. (ND Cal, 2016)

Key Insight: Discovery is not disproportionate just because you say so. Insufficient privilege log.

Nature of Case: Class action involving alleged improper classification of independent contractor status.

Electronic Data Involved: Production of emails in response to Plaintiffs’ requests.

Keywords: Produce all documents responsive to Plaintiff’s search terms. Duplicative and not proportional.

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In re Viagra Products Liability Litigation (N.D. Cal., 2016)

Key Insight: whether party can be forced to use TAR v. search terms

Nature of Case: product liability

Electronic Data Involved: email and documents

Keywords: viagara, forced TAR

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First Niagara Risk Management, Inc. v. Folino, No. 16-1779 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 11, 2016).

Key Insight: Responding party’s ability to choose search methods is not above rule of proportionality.

Nature of Case: Breach of Contract/Breach of Fiduciary Duty Action

Electronic Data Involved: Personal and business electronic devices

Keywords: “search criteria” “access[ability]” “uncovered evidence” “limit[ing] searches” “shielding” “Sedona”

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Saller v. QVC, Inc. (ED Pa., 2016)

Key Insight: Discovery sanctions motion.

Nature of Case: Workplace discrimination.

Electronic Data Involved: Employment records including personnel files of supervisors and documents regarding performance of other employees.

Keywords: Failure to preserve, search terms, motion to compel.

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AVM Technologies LLC v. Intel Corp. (D. Del., 2016)

Key Insight: court allows keyword search of one database (agreed to by party) but denies search of three others deeming them disproportionate

Nature of Case: patent infringement

Electronic Data Involved: database

Keywords: keyword search, disproportionate,

H.M. Elecs., Inc. v. R.F. Techs., Inc., No. 12cv28840-BAS-MDD, 2015 WL 4714908 (S.D. cal. Aug. 7, 2015)

Key Insight: For multiple discovery violations by Defendant and counsel, including improper certification of discovery responses pursuant to Rule 26(g), failure to issue a litigation hold or appropriately supervise discovery, and intentional deletion of responsive materials and delayed production, the court imposed multiple discovery sanctions, including attorneys? fees and costs, issue sanctions, and an adverse inference; notably, the court indicated sanctions would have been imposed under New Rule 37(e), because the court found that the at-issue ESI was lost with the intent to deprive Plaintiff of the information?s use in the litigation; Update: Compensatory sanctions vacated by District Court upon determination that parties? settlement mooted the issue of compensatory sanctions (—F.Supp.3d—, 2016 WL 1267385 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 15, 2016))

Nature of Case: Trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trade dress infringement, trade libel, unfair competition and interference with prospective economic advantage

Electronic Data Involved: ESI

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