Bow Tie Law

Production Madness: The Covad Story Continues with New ESI Pitfalls

Understandably, taking an electronic document such as a spreadsheet, printing it, cutting it up, and telling one’s opponent to paste it back together again, when the electronic document can be produced with a keystroke is madness in the world in which we live. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola, Covad Communs.[…]

Read more

Don’t Bank on this Strategy to Compel Electronically Stored Information

The Court finds the parties could have avoided the expenses of this Motion by conferring appropriately early in the case about ESI. United States Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. LaSalle Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70514 (S.D. Ohio July 24, 2009). Banks really[…]

Read more

Turning Rule 26(a) Initial Disclosures into Rule 26(e) Supplemental Disclosures

What happens if more responsive documents are found after the case management order setting a required disclosure deadline? Answer: You must supplement your disclosure. In Kutrip v. City of St. Louis, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60199 (E.D. Mo. June 30, 2009), the deadline for discovery was November 30, 2006 and[…]

Read more

When You Have Over 100 “Any and All” Requests for Production, Don’t Complain About Lots of Documents to Review

When, as here, broad discovery requests lead to relevant documents being mixed in with seemingly irrelevant documents, the fault lies just as much with the party who made the request as with the party who produced documents in response to the request. District Court Judge Ted Stewart, Cmty. House, Inc. v.[…]

Read more

Telling the Judge ESI is “Expensive” is not an Excuse for Failing to Produce

It is generally a bad sign when an opinion begins with a Court banning parties from filing more discovery motions without the Court’s approval.  This is one of those cases.  Textron Fin. Corp. v. Eddy’s Trailer Sales, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60065 (E.D.N.Y. July 10, 2009). One of the[…]

Read more

Coffee, Donuts and a Meet & Confer on Electronically Stored Information

Dunkin’ Donuts sued to terminate a franchise agreement on the basis the Defendants breached their contract by erroneously reporting employee wages on an IRS W-2 Form and trademark infringement.  Dunkin’ Donuts Franchised Rests. LLC v. Grand Cent. Donuts, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52261, 4-5 (E.D.N.Y. June 19, 2009).  The[…]

Read more