Author: kgates

Lack of â€œMeaningfulâ€� Communication with Opposing Counsel, Client Results in â€œOverly Complexâ€� and Burdensome Agreement; Partial Costs Shifted

July 4, 2017 by kgates

Bailey v. Brookdale Univ. Hosp. Med. Ctr., No. C 16-2195(ADS)(AKT), 2017 WL 2616957 (E.D.N.Y. June 16, 2017) In this single-plaintiff employment litigation, Plaintiff claimed that the cost of production, equaling approximately $2,000-$3,000, was unduly burdensome in light of his personal financial situation, despite the existence of an ESI agreement between the parties, “so-ordered” by the […]

Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project Underway in AZ and IL Federal Courts

June 22, 2017 by kgates

A three-year pilot project studying â€œwhether requiring parties in civil cases to respond to a series of standard discovery requests before undertaking other discovery will reduce the cost and delay of civil litigationâ€� is now underway in the District of Arizona and the Northern District of Illinois.Â All civil cases in these jurisdictions, except those […]

NY County Addresses Technological Competence

June 16, 2017 by kgates

Formal Opinion 749 In February, the NY County Lawyers Association Professional Ethics Committee issued Formal Opinion 749, addressing â€œ[a] lawyerâ€™s ethical duty of technological competence with respect to the duty to protect a clientâ€™s confidential information from cybersecurity risk and handling e-discovery when representing clients in a litigation or government investigation.â€� The committee summarized its […]

No Sanctions for Unintentional, Automatic Deletion of Web History and Related Information

June 15, 2017 by kgates

Eshelman v. Puma Biotech., Inc., No. 7:16-CV-18-D, 2017 WL 2483800 (E.D.N.C. June 7, 2017) In this case, the court denied Plaintiffâ€™s motion for an order permitting a jury instruction regarding Defendantâ€™s failure to preserve web browser history and related information for persons responsible for the preparation of an allegedly defamatory presentation where Plaintiff failed to […]

TX Supreme Court Addresses Format of Production, Applies Proportionality

June 3, 2017 by kgates

In re State Farm Lloyds, Nos. 15-0903, 15-0905, 2017 WL 2323099 (Tex. Mar. 26, 2017) Today, we elucidate the guiding principles informing the exercise of discretion over electronic-discovery disputes, emphasizing that proportionality is the polestar. In doing so, we further a guiding tenet of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure: that litigants achieve a â€œjust, […]

â€œDiscovery can be burdensome even as it is inexpensive.â€�

May 23, 2017 by kgates

Gordon v. T.G.R. Logistics, Inc., No. 16-cv-00238-NDF, 2017 WL 1947537 (D. Wy. May 10, 2017) In this personal injury case, Defendant requested production of Plaintiffâ€™s entire â€œFacebook account historyâ€� for her two accounts (and later limited the relevant timeframe ofÂ the request to information from three years prior to the accident through the present). In response, […]