Bow Tie Law

Things to Think About for Your Rule 26(f) Meeting…

In a case management hearing, the parties were directed to consider the following electronically stored information (ESI) issues at their Rule 26(f) conference for drafting their proposed Rule 16(b) order: With regard to any discoverable electronically stored information (ESI) the parties may have, the Court further requests that the joint discovery plan also[…]

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Speedy Delivery: Compelling Imaging & Searching of Everything

In a contract dispute regarding a shipping vendor, the Plaintiff brought a motion to compel the collection and processing of the entire contents of Defendants’ hard drives, network drives, and user files.  Unishippers Global Logistics, LLC v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94844 (D. Utah Oct. 12,[…]

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Proving Up Destroyed ESI is Favorable to Your Position is Hard to Do

In an ADA employment case, the Plaintiff sought spoliation sanctions and an adverse inference instruction for the destruction of electronically stored information (ESI). Scalera v. Electrograph Sys., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91572 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2009). The Plaintiff lost.             The Discovery Requests The Plaintiff sought the[…]

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The Titan Killer: Mandatory Exclusion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 37(c)(1)

Oracle and SAP are at war.  They have exchanged bayonet charges in discovery for two years in a case where Oracle has accused SAP (TomorrowNow) of “systematic and pervasive illegal downloading of Oracle software over approximately six years.”  Oracle United States v. Sap Ag, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91432 (N.D.[…]

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A Three Page Order Hitting De-Duplication & Litigation Holds

From the plains of Kansas comes another short and powerful order by Magistrate Judge David Waxse.  On Constitution Day, Judge Waxse was very busy in White v. Graceland College Ctr. for Prof’l Dev. & Lifelong Learning, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85849 (D. Kan. Sept. 18, 2009).  For an earlier[…]

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A Picture is worth a Thousand Words, but Sanctions are Priceless

The Defendants in Green v. McClendon, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71860 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2009) attempted to purchase a $4.2 million painting.  As the Defendants’ marriage ended in divorce, the Defendants (who never took physical ownership) did not complete their payments.  The Plaintiff sought sanctions against both the Defendant and[…]

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Lions, Tigers & Bears: Failing to Preserve ESI, Search Terms and Forensically Imaging Computers

In Treppel v. Biovail Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25867 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) the Plaintiff brought an action alleging a smear campaign against him. The Defendants in turn claimed the Plaintiff defamed their CEO and caused their stock to drop in value.   No matter what the truth is, these parties are[…]

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