Key Insight: Plaintiff traded in her cell phone, Defendant requested an adverse inference for spoliation
Nature of Case: hostile work environment and retaliation
Electronic Data Involved: text messages
Keywords: spoliation, adverse inference, text messages
Key Insight: Private messages between individuals that are not defendants are protected from discovery through the Stored Communications Act even if the providing company itself is the named defendant
Nature of Case: Class action securities fraud
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic messages (twitter direct messages)
Keywords: Class action, direct message, twitter, stock
Key Insight: Motion (denied) for adverse inference based on alleged spoliation.
Nature of Case: 8th Amendment claims under 42 U.S.C. s. 1983
Electronic Data Involved: surveillance video
Keywords: inherent power, adverse-inference instruction
Key Insight: Extreme misconduct by defendant leads to recommendation of termination sanctions
Nature of Case: Civil rights violations (police excessive force)
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic records generally
Keywords: retrospect, contempt, sanctions, Agiwal factors, repeated and numerous violations,
Key Insight: Boilerplate objections to discovery requests can lead to sanctions without being specifically tailored to the request
Nature of Case: Intellectual Property (patent and trademark infringement), breach of contract
Electronic Data Involved: Electronic data
Keywords: boilerplate, obstructionism, objections
Key Insight: whether there was accessibility problems or undue burden or cost associated with turning over phones and computers for forensic imaging; also, whether it was sufficient to have plaintiff’s employee’s conduct a search for responsive ESI
Nature of Case: breach of contract, tortious interference
Electronic Data Involved: e-mails, phone messages, physical computers and cellphones and their data
Keywords: “former business relationship”, “information may be discoverable even if not ultimately admissible into evidence”, “Allstate, however, agreed to produce responsive information within its custody”
Key Insight: Courts should be less involved in discovery dispute regarding ESI despite recent FRCP amendments
Nature of Case: Labor Standards Class Action
Electronic Data Involved: third party electronic payroll data
Keywords: FRCP 2015 amendments, electronically readable fomat
Key Insight: loss or destruction of documents and spoliation sanctions
Nature of Case: refusal to hire
Electronic Data Involved: destroyed notes (not specified to be electronic), Excel spreadsheet
Keywords: adverse inference instruction, Fed. R. Evid. 301, Hicks, EEOC
Key Insight: sanctions
Nature of Case: class action
Electronic Data Involved: source code
Keywords: sanctions, material misrepresentation, attorney’s fees, expert fees, costs, inherent authority
Key Insight: 4.2 million pages of keyword “”hit”” documents produced without review, but designated “”Attorney Eyes Only.
Nature of Case: unfair competition
Electronic Data Involved: 4.2 million pages of keyword “”hit”” documents
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