Key Insight: Judge accepted party’s friend request on Facebook, after the custody hearing and before decision.
Nature of Case: Motion to modify minor child custody order due to domestic abuse
Electronic Data Involved: Facebook posts. Electronic social media (ESM).
Keywords: Facebook, objective bias, judicial bias
Identified State Rule(s): Appeal: reversal and remand for further proceedings before a different judge
Key Insight: The expert’s theory was not sufficiently reliable, so it was excluded
Nature of Case: Products liability, medical
Electronic Data Involved: Expert testimony
Keywords: Causation, expert testimony
Key Insight: 3rd party access to another entity’s electronic database. On appeal, discovery order vacated on four factors: inadequate data request, no evidence that search would find responsive data, order requested data outside plaintiff’s original request, order improperly granted access to data outside litigation’s scope.
Nature of Case: Trade secret theft and interference with patient relationships
Electronic Data Involved: electronic practice management systems in the cloud
Keywords: 3rd party, expert, search, electronic database, cloud, undue intrusion, beyond the scope.
Key Insight: Preservation orders should be commenced as soon as possible
Nature of Case: Discovery
Electronic Data Involved: E-mail
Keywords: Litigation hold, Preservation, Sanctions
Identified State Rule(s): North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure 26(g), 37(b)(2)
Key Insight: A court must view video evidence before ruling on its admissibility, generally
Nature of Case: Workplace accident
Electronic Data Involved: Video
Keywords: Video evidence
Key Insight: Privacy settings do not govern scope of disclosure of social media materials
Nature of Case: Personal injury
Electronic Data Involved: Facebook posts
Keywords: Facebook, privacy setting, horse, social media
Identified State Rule(s): CPLR 3101, CPLR 3103
Key Insight: Circumstantial evidence to corroborate that the defendant did actually send the social media post/message in question was required, such as metadata.
Nature of Case: aggravated assault and harassment
Electronic Data Involved: Social media
Keywords: metadata
Identified State Rule(s): Penn. Rule of Evidence 901
Key Insight: Refusal to produce documents. Clergy-penitent privilege
Nature of Case: Negligence and failure to warn (Sexual Abuse)
Electronic Data Involved: letter,email, fax,ESI
Keywords: Willful refusal to comply with discovery order; Monetary sanctions; Judicial estoppel
Key Insight: Showing threshold of compelling interest unnecessary before nonparty contact information is discoverable
Nature of Case: Wage and hour class action
Electronic Data Involved: nonparty contact information
Keywords: third party privacy, class action, percipient witness, discovery threshold, threshold requirement
Identified State Rule(s): Cal. Civ. Proc. 2017.010, 1017.020, 2030.300
Key Insight: Attorney client privilege and work product protections for communications from company devices
Nature of Case: employment discrimination
Electronic Data Involved: Company laptop data
Keywords: attorney client privilege, computer forensics, privacy policy, work product
Identified State Rule(s): CPLR 3103
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