Estate of Shaw v. Marcus (S.D.N.Y., 2017)
Key Insight: email
Nature of Case: Family Business dispute
Electronic Data Involved: email
Keywords: Pattern of delinquent conduct; Complete disr4egard for court orders; failure to preserve; Zubulake
Citibank v. Super Sayin Publishing (Southern District of NY, 2017)
Key Insight: Updated spoliation rule was correctly applied to motion regarding earlier conduct because the party cited the updated rule
Nature of Case: Negotiable instrument
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records, emails, text messages
Keywords: retroactive application discovery rule, ESI spoliation sanctions
Identified Local Court Rule(s): S. District N Local Civil Rule 7.1(a)(1)
Air Products v. Wiesemann (D. Del., 2017)
Key Insight: Sanctions not allowed on parties wiping laptops, because they had only been named as search terms after the other party knew that wiping had happened. No sanction for lost emails available from another source. Pure speculation is not enough to find that relevant ESI was destroyed.
Nature of Case: Securities and Commodities litigation
Electronic Data Involved: Computer log info, laptop info
Keywords: spoliation, sanctions, inherent authority
Below v. Yokohoma Tire Corp (Western District of Wisconsin, 2017)
Key Insight: Negligence or even gross negligence is not necessarily bad faith and thus not spoliation
Nature of Case: Product liability
Electronic Data Involved: Car electronic data
Keywords: truck, bad faith, salvage yard, spoliation, sword, shield
Redzepagic v. Hammer – Case Opinion (Southern District of New York, 2017)
Key Insight: Sanctions denied against defendant because text messages were available from a different source, sanctions denied against plaintiff because documents were not under plaintiff’s control
Nature of Case: Fair Labor Standards Act (failure to pay overtime wages)
Electronic Data Involved: Text messages
Keywords: FLSA, Sefket, CBA,
Blasi v. United Debt Services (Souther District Ohio, Eastern Division, 2017)
Key Insight: Party that does not dispute it spoliated ESI should be sanctioned
Nature of Case: consumer protection class action
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records
Keywords: spoliation sanctions, deleted electronic records
Oppenheimer v. City of La Habra (Central District of California, Southern Division, 2017)
Key Insight: Rule 37 does not directly address destruction of video footage.
Nature of Case: prisoner suicide
Electronic Data Involved: video footage, emails, text messages
Keywords: destruction video, spoliation video
Alston v. Park Pleasant (3rd Circuit, 2017)
Key Insight: No spoliation because no bad faith found when party did not retain records after selling assets (including computers)
Nature of Case: workplace discrimination, disability rights
Electronic Data Involved: unspecified electronic records
Keywords: Rule 37(e) ignored,
Organik Kimya v. ITC (Fed. Cir., 2017)
Key Insight: whether an order of default judgment amounts to abuse of discretion given finding of bad faith
Nature of Case: patent infringement / misappropriation of trade secrets
Electronic Data Involved: deleted electronic records
Keywords: spoliation, overwriting, internal clock, laptop, forensic investigation, intent, bad faith, prejudice, ability to control, litigation hold notice, default judgment, adverse inference, deterrence
Creighton v. City of New York (Southern District New York, 2017)
Key Insight: Sanctions not found because VHS degrades naturally and missing reports were not proven relevant
Nature of Case: false arrest
Electronic Data Involved: video VHS, lost original tape, paper documents
Keywords: 37(e) ignored, lost original tape, missing reports, culpable state of mind