Key Insight: the failure to implement a litigation hold is an important factor in determining culpability, ?but not per evidence of culpable conduct giving rise to a presumption of relevance and prejudice.?
Nature of Case: personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: destroyed records
Keywords: litigation hold; spoliation; adverse inference; likely to result in litigation
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
Key Insight: Courts have leeway for creative sanctions proportional to the spoliation (denying all evidentiary objections)
Nature of Case: Fraud
Electronic Data Involved: E-mails
Keywords: serendipity, CFTC, magistrate judge
Key Insight: Court used a spoliation test non-specific to electronic discovery, spoliation not found due to one defendant not in control of the evidence and the other destroying the evidence without bad faith and not when litigation was reasonably foreseeable
Nature of Case: Collision
Electronic Data Involved: ECM data
Keywords: ECM, electronic control module, spoliation
Key Insight: whether the loss of a cell phone can give rise to an adverse inference re location data
Nature of Case: insurance fraud
Electronic Data Involved: lost cell phone
Keywords: spoliation; adverse inference
Key Insight: petitioner’s motion for contempt, subpoena enforcement
Nature of Case: subpoena duces tecum issued by US Dept. of Labor to Respondent, a roofing company. Workplace safety violations and follow-up inspections..
Electronic Data Involved: text and email messages
Keywords: subpoena duces tecum, failure to take reasonable steps to comply with the order
Key Insight: The Amended Rule governs unless its application would be unjust or impracticable.
Nature of Case: ADA discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: surveillance video
Keywords: Spoliation, adverse inference, amended rule
Key Insight: insufficient evidence to support finding of spoliation
Nature of Case: Trade secret misappropriation, breach of confidentiality agreement
Electronic Data Involved: deletion of plaintiff’s electronic files from May’s personal hard drive
Keywords: spoliation inference, trade secret misappropriation
Key Insight: Lack of cooperation and deception on production does not lead to terminating sanctions if evidence was not actually destroyed but does lead to adverse inferences and cost shifting
Nature of Case: Unfair Competition
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic records
Keywords: CrossFit, terminating sanctions, perjury
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