Key Insight: Providing a document index is not overly burdensome. Production of metadata cannot be compelled without showing that metadata is relevant..
Nature of Case: violation of civil rights as a landowner
Electronic Data Involved: metadata, electronically stored data, document index
Keywords: adequacy of production, metadata relevancy
Key Insight: confidential settlement information in documents requested
Nature of Case: Negligence and breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: communications between Amex Nooter and IOSHA
Keywords: Confidential Settlement information, motion to compel, impeachment
Key Insight: Discovery, metadata associated with electronic information
Nature of Case: Modification of the Court Order – Motion to Compel
Electronic Data Involved: Court order granted, plaintiff is not required to produce metadata.
Keywords: metadata, electronic information, request for production of documents, order
Key Insight: forensic imaging of USB drive of handwritten notes and reopening of deposition for questioning regarding the notes
Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: handwritten notes from plantiff
Keywords: delaying tactics, reopening deposition, disclosure of evidence at deposition, relevancy
Key Insight: are the defendants acting in bad faith by not confirming that evidence doesn’t exist or was it not preserved, in that case is it sanctionable
Nature of Case: violation of Securities act, violation of the exchange act and rule 10b-5, unregistered securities offerings
Electronic Data Involved: “back office data” information as to whether defendants explored public offering
Keywords: bad faith, sanctions, spoliation, public offering
Key Insight: personnel files are not maintained by the custodian, they are maintained by HR and contain personal information and are not discoverable
Nature of Case: products liability
Electronic Data Involved: employee personnel files of people that plaintiffs want to depose
Keywords: discoverability, relevancy, personnel files
Key Insight: if sanctions can be granted for inconsistent and incomplete response from opposing party
Nature of Case: violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law
Electronic Data Involved: initial interrogatories and verifications
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions, default judgment, defunct business, unreachable party
Key Insight: Court granted motion to compel and rejected objections based on burden where Defendants offered no evidence in support of the alleged claims of burden nor ?any specificity regarding the approximate cost of production?
Nature of Case: Fraud
Electronic Data Involved: ESI
Key Insight: Although ?[t]he rules do not require a party to produce ESI in the form most helpful to the opposing party[,]? the court ordered Defendant to produce additional discovery in TIFF format and to produce the metadata for all documents already produced (in PDF format)
Nature of Case: Class action
Electronic Data Involved: ESI (.xls, proprietary format)
Key Insight: Court granted Plaintiffs? motion to compel production of defendant database records. Defendant argued that the harm to third parties from disclosure of personal information contained in the requested data outweighed the relevance of the information to plaintiffs? claim, and that the preparation, review, and production presented an undue burden. Finding that the requested data was highly relevant to the class certification requirements, the court concluded plaintiffs? need significantly outweighed privacy concerns given the option of producing subject to protective order and Plaintiffs? agreement to accept data with personal information redacted. Nor was the court persuaded by defendant?s burden argument, finding the estimate and explanation from plaintiffs? database consultant ?more persuasive, appropriate, and accurate? than that provided by defendant – particularly in light of modifications Plaintiffs made to their request after defendant clarified how the data was stored in their systems. The court also noted that defendant?s briefing failed to allege any facts supporting its assertion that the information was more readily available from other sources.
Nature of Case: Class Action; Violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act
Electronic Data Involved: Database
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