Magistrate Judge Jonathon Goodman knows the value of an expert deposition in complex litigation and B.B. King.
Everyday I Have the Blues
Here is the basic dispute in Procaps S.A. v. Patheon Inc.: The Plaintiff, based in Columbia, did not put a litigation hold in place until ordered by the Court. There are issues with inadequate searches and the Plaintiff’s attorney did not travel to Columbia to meet with the Plaintiff’s IT team. Custodians conducted searches themselves for collection without reviewing the discovery requests. The Plaintiff is accused of spoliation of electronically stored information. A spoliation motion is expected. Procaps S.A. v. Patheon Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53997, 2-4 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 24, 2015).
A Special Master was appointed to examine the eDiscovery and forensic issues in the case. Additionally, a neutral third-party computer forensic expert examined the Plaintiff’s computers. A Report was prepared that showed “that nearly 200,000 emails, PDFs, and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files were apparently deleted. It appears that approximately 5,700 of these files contain an ESI search term in their title, which indicates that they could have been subject to production in the forensic analysis if they had not been deleted. Procaps, at *7.
The Report also stated duplicate files could exist and that “there is no evidence that any ESI or other documents have been deleted or purged with no chance of being recovered.” Procaps, at *7-8.
To Know You is to Love You
The Defendants sought to conduct the deposition of the neutral third-party expert to explain the report. After a protracted discussion of whether the Court could order such a deposition procedurally, the Court stated Federal Rule Evidence 706(b)(2) expressly provided for such depositions. Procaps, at *15.
The Court explained that deposing the expert would benefit the parties and the Court in understanding the ESI issues in the case. As the Judged explained, “the Undersigned has no hesitation about disclosing my appreciation for help on complex ESI issues from court-appointed, neutral forensic experts (and from special masters with considerable experience in E-discovery).” Procaps, at *14-15.
The Court ordered the deposition of the third-party computer forensic expert to be conducted in part by the Special Master. Procaps, at *2-3. The goal of the deposition was to assist the Court in deciding the issues from the deleted files and assist the Defendant in determining whether or not to file a sanctions motion. Id.
Bow Tie Thoughts
First things first, I hope B.B. King is comfortable.
The “e” in “eDiscovery” is not because it is “easy.” Determining whether ESI was lost, whether it exists in another location, whether it is not reasonably accessible, requires expert analysis. This expert analysis needs to be communicated to the Court, usually in the form of a Report or Affidavit, but sometimes in a deposition.
The battles in this case focused on procedural issues with having the expert deposition. The Court rightly allowed the deposition and was wise to leverage the Special Master, who is very knowledgeable in eDiscovery, to conduct the deposition. Many cases have complex issues with how to collect data and strategies for reviewing ESI. Employing an expert is a smart way to focus on the merits and not get lost in eDiscovery issues.