Josh Gilliland

Thoughts on Independence Day

July 3, 2012 Josh Gilliland History

I have a bust of John Adams on my desk. I also have one of John Quincy Adams. Both are reminders to be resolute and work hard. Lawyers made a very large contribution in the founding of the United States. We have a noble profession that is dedicated to upholding[…]

Believing "Missing" Emails Exist Does Not Make Adverse Inference Sanctions Real

July 1, 2012 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Litigation Hold, Spoliation

The Plaintiff in an employment discrimination lawsuit brought a motion for adverse inference jury instructions for the alleged destruction or suppression of email over a specific date range. The Plaintiff did not offer evidence of the email messages existence, only that he believed the email existed. Omogbehin v. Cino, 2012[…]

Cowboys & Lawyers: Spaghetti Western eDiscovery

June 19, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Meet & Confer, Request for Production

Judge Facciola stands as one of the single most prolific Federal Magistrate Judges in the United States. Once again, the bow tie wearing jurist eloquently laid down the law in Tadayon v. Greyhound Lines, Inc. The discovery order concluded with the following passage: III. High Noon As explained at the[…]

eDiscovery Does Not Mean Esoteric Discovery

June 16, 2012 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, ethics, Reasonably Accessible, Undue Burden

News Am. Mktg. In-Store Servs., is a breach of contract case involving multiple eDiscovery disputes. According to the Plaintiff, the Defendant did the following: Destroyed relevant email evidence, including an email server; Failed to produce responsive documents in discovery due to the above failure; and Failed to run appropriate ESI searches[…]

Writ of Mandamus & Search of Personal Hard Drive

June 11, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Search Terms

A Plaintiff sought a writ of mandamus after a trial court ordered the production of the Plaintiff’s personal computer and email accounts. The Court of Appeals of Texas granted the writ. In re Jordan, 364 S.W.3d 425 (Tex. App. Dallas 2012). The case involved claims of a sexually hostile work[…]

Blocking Discovery with Blocked Calls

June 6, 2012 Josh Gilliland 47 C.F.R. § 64.1601, Blocked Calls, Voicemail

A Plaintiff propounded a Rule 45 request on a phone company to disclose the name and phone number associated with a blocked call. The Court denied the motion to compel the information. Lindsey v. PNC Mortg., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74481, 3 (D. Haw. May 30, 2012). The lawsuit involved[…]

The Fabric of Inadequate Search & Spoliation Allegations

May 18, 2012 Josh Gilliland Document Review, Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Forensic Image, Imaging Hard Drives, Spoliation

In a case involving claims of copyright infringement of fabric design, the tapestry of the Plaintiff’s discovery production was challenged, including allegations the Plaintiff: Neglected to search for and produce several categories of documents; and Deleted relevant emails. The Defendants sought an order permitting a forensic examination of Plaintiff’s computer[…]

iConect User Conference

May 18, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery

I attended the iConect User Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last month. I have been a guest lecturer for several iConect webinars and it was great to meet many from the team in person. The Conference was content driven, with a keynote by Chris Dale of the e-Disclosure Information Project.[…]

Judicial Test Pilot

April 27, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Predictive Coding

When you think of Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff,” test pilots and astronauts immediately come to mind. Aviators who risked their lives testing new technology that went higher and faster than anything else that could fly. The pilots who flew the X planes of the 1940s to 1960s built the[…]