e-Lawyering Court Concludes Defendant’s Request was “precisely the kind of disproportionate discovery that Rule 26—old or new—was intended to preclude.” January 19, 2016 by kgates Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 5:13-cv-04057-BLF, 2016 WL 146574 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2016) In this case, the court addressed Defendant’s motion to compel production of additional discovery and, applying newly amended Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), determined that Defendant’s request was “precisely the kind of disproportionate discovery that Rule 26—old […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES FEDERAL RULES AMENDMENTS
e-Lawyering “The amendments may not look like a big deal at first glance, but they are.” – Chief Justice Roberts, 2015 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary January 4, 2016 by kgates Chief Justice John Roberts has issued his annual report on the federal judiciary, focused primarily on the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including a brief history of their development and discussion of their intended effects. Among other things, the report makes clear that the amendments “mark significant change, for both lawyers […] Read more » FEDERAL RULES AMENDMENTS NEWS & UPDATES
e-Lawyering Absent Plaintiff’s Control of Emails in Employees’ Personal Accounts, Court Denies Motion to Compel December 28, 2015 by kgates Matthew Enter., Inc. v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, No. 13-cv-04236-BLF, 2015 WL 8482256 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2015) In this case, the court declined to compel production from Plaintiff’s employees’ personal email accounts because Plaintiff did not have control of the emails for purposes of discovery. As to the contents of Plaintiff’s “customer communications database” maintained […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering Court Applies Amended Rule 26, Concludes Burdens on Parties Resisting Discovery Have Not Fundamentally Changed December 17, 2015 by kgates Carr v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No.3:15-cv-1026-M, 2015 WL 8010920 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2015) In this case, the court addressed Defendant’s Motion to Compel discovery responses and undertook substantial analysis of the effects of newly amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 on the burdens of parties’ resisting discovery, concluding they had […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES FEDERAL RULES AMENDMENTS
e-Lawyering In Criminal Case, Failure to Preserve Results in Exclusion of All Text Messages, Possible Adverse Inference December 9, 2015 by kgates United States v. Vaughn, No. 14-23 (JLL), 2015 WL 6948577 (D.N.J. Nov. 10, 2015) In this criminal case, a pro se defendant sought sanctions, including dismissal of the indictment, for the Government’s failure to preserve text messages relevant to its investigation. Upon examination of the facts, including the Government’s acknowledged failure to preserve certain text […] Read more » CASE SUMMARIES
e-Lawyering Electronic Discovery Law Blog Named to ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 (Again!) December 8, 2015 by kgates The e-Discovery Analysis & Technology (e-DAT) Group at K&L Gates is proud to announce that the Electronic Discovery Law blog has again been named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 list. Thanks to all who nominated us and to all of our readers for their ongoing interest in the important issues affecting electronic discovery! Click […] Read more » NEWS & UPDATES