Native File – Page 2

A PDF Production is Not How a Native File is Ordinarily Maintained

December 17, 2010 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Native File, Reasonably Useable Form, Request for Production

In a production dispute over native files, Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry shows us (again) that producing native files as non-searchable PDF’s does not comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 34. Jannx Med. Sys. v. Methodist Hosps., Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122574 (N.D. Ind. Nov. 17, 2010). Federal Rule[…]

Nothing to Fear, But the Production of Metadata

October 28, 2010 Josh Gilliland Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Metadata, Native File

In an employment class action against Allstate involving alleged coercion to convert employees into independent contractors without their original benefits, the Plaintiffs sought the production of metadata of native files (along with several other discovery demands). Romero v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111985 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 21,[…]

Ensuring Searchable Production Formats (Or Don’t Tick off the Judge)

June 2, 2010 Josh Gilliland Civil Procedure, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Meet & Confer, Metadata, Native File

Parties should be very careful when Courts start referring to a party’s views on electronically stored information as “dismissive.” More importantly, if a party boasts that they use a litigation support system on their website, don’t be surprised if the Court discusses that fact with the URL in an opinion. A Discovery Brawl In[…]

The Form of Production Battle of the Bulge: Scanned PDF’s Not a Reasonably Useable Form

January 25, 2010 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Foreign Discovery, Form of Production, Native File, Reasonably Useable Form, Request for Production

“In the court’s experience, scanned PDFs, as opposed to electronically-produced PDFs, are not reasonably usable.” Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner In Accessdata Corp. v. Alste Techs. Gmbh, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4566 (D. Utah Jan. 21, 2010), a United States based company that produces forensic software used in e-Discovery, entered into a contract with[…]

Don’t Argue Imaginary ESI Production Problems

August 19, 2009 Josh Gilliland Document Review, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, ethics, Form of Production, Metadata, Motion to Compel, Native File, OCR, TIFF

In re NetBank, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69031 (N.D. Ga. Aug. 7, 2009) has form of production arguments that illustrate the need to understand the processing abilities of electronically stored information applications and review in litigation support software. The Request for Production In this class certification case, the Plaintiff[…]

Name that Form of Production: Converting ESI to TIFF without Metadata is Not a Reasonably Useable Form

May 7, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Document Review, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, ethics, Form of Production, Metadata, Native File, TIFF

Bray & Gillespie Mgmt. LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21250 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 4, 2009) is a lengthy opinion covering Rule 34 requests, form of production issues concerning metadata, reasonably useable form of production, ethical responsibilities for candor to the Court and Opposing Parties and sanctions. […]

Production of Metadata and the Importance of the Meet & Confer Process

February 21, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Document Review, e-Discovery, Form of Production, Metadata, Motion to Compel, Native File, Request for Production, Uncategorized

This lawsuit demonstrates why it is so important that parties frilly discuss their ESI early in the evolution of a case. Had that been done, the Defendants might not have opposed the Plaintiffs’ requests for certain metadata. Moreover, the parties might have been able to work out many, if not[…]

Mock Motion in Limine Arguments to Exclude ESI

January 19, 2009 Josh Gilliland CT Summation, Deposition, Discovery, e-Discovery, Mock Trial, Native File, Trial

Michael Berman, Esq., of Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver, LLC, argued to excluded email messages and a voice mail at the CT Summation Best Practices Summit, held in Washington, DC on May 20th, 2008. The Best Practices Summit included a mock motion in limine hearing. In the fictional case, the[…]

One Pesky Requirement for a Motion to Compel e-Discovery

January 10, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Metadata, Motion to Compel, Native File, Request for Production

There is no shortage of case law on motions to compel native files, metadata and all things dealing with the form of production. However, there is one basic requirement for a motion to compel: You have to have a request for production first. Most motion to compel train wrecks[…]