e-Lawyering “Applying TAR to the universe of electronic material before any keyword search reduces [it] is the preferred method.â€� May 15, 2017 by kgates FCA USA LLC v. Cummins, LLC, No. 16-12883 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 28, 2017) In this case, the court was asked to rule on the parties’ dispute regarding “whether the universe of electronic material subject to TAR review should first be culled by the use of search terms.â€� The court, although expressly reluctant to get involved, […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering Court Concludes Data Is within Defendant’s Possession, Custody or Control, Declines to Shift Costs May 9, 2017 by kgates Williams v. Angie’s List, No. 1:16-00878-WTL-MJD, 2017 WL 1318419 (S.D. Ind. April 10, 2017) Plaintiffs in this case—48 current and former employees of Defendant—alleged they were entitled to “substantial compensationâ€� for hours worked without pay. Plaintiffs further alleged that Defendant’s computerized time records did not entirely reflect their hours worked because Defendant had instructed them […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering U.S. Supreme Court Considers “Inherent Authority to Sanction a Litigant for Bad-faith Conductâ€� by Ordering Payment of Opponent’s “Legal Fees,â€� Reverses and Remands April 26, 2017 by kgates Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, 581 U.S. ___ (2017) In this rare opinion from our Supreme Court addressing discovery, the court considered “a federal court’s inherent authority to sanction a litigant for bad-faith conduct by ordering it to pay the other side’s legal fees.â€� The court held that “such an order is limited […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering Court Concludes Rule 37(e) Does Not Apply to “situations where, as here, a party intentionally deleted the recording” April 7, 2017 by kgates Hsueh v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Fin. Servs., No. 15 Civ. 3401 (PAC), 2017 WL 1194706 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2017) In this case arising from claims of sexual harassment at work, the court found that an adverse inference was the appropriate remedy for Plaintiff’s deletion of a recorded conversation with an HR representative. In the course of […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering Sedona Principles Revised, Public Comment Welcomed April 4, 2017 by kgates The Sedona Conference has published revisions to its foundational Sedona Principles, The Sedona Principles, Third Edition: Best Practices, Recommendations & Principles for Addressing Electronic Document Production. As stated in the preface, the Third Edition was “necessitated by an even greater explosion in the volume and diversity of forms of electronically stored information, the constant evolution […] Read more » NEWS & UPDATES
e-Lawyering Sanctions Imposed for Loss of ESI Transferred in Sale of Business March 23, 2017 by kgates ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan Bd. of Trs. v. Connecticut Gen. Life. Ins. Co., No. C 15-02965 WHA, 2017 WL 345988 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 24, 2017) In this case, ESI was lost when Defendant’s parent company sold another of its companies—on whose servers Defendant’s ESI was inexplicably stored—resulting in the transfer of that company’s servers and the ESI thereon […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES