Josh Gilliland

A Search Terms Gam

March 14, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Predictive Coding, Search Terms

Determining search terms can sink into a voyage on the Pequod hunting a white whale. If a party obsesses over search terms, they may find themselves quoting Captain Ahab as they sink in an over-inclusive ocean of electronically stored information. To The Last, I Grapple With Thee In EEOC v.[…]

Watch Local Rules on Initial Disclosures

March 12, 2012 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Initial Disclosures

Jo Ann Howard & Assocs., P.C. v. Cassity, is a dispute over the production of a Defendant’s initial disclosures. The Defendant described various ESI and other documents as part of their initial disclosures pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 26(a)(1). Jo Ann Howard & Assocs., P.C. v. Cassity,[…]

Huge Hole in eDiscovery Process

February 22, 2012 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Document Review

Airlines don’t just lose luggage. In antitrust litigation over airline baggage fees, a Court sanctioned Delta for not conducting a reasonable inquiry and a “huge hole” in their eDiscovery process. In re Delta/AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litig., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13462, 41-43 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 3, 2012). Flight Plan[…]

All You Need is Metadata

February 14, 2012 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Document Review, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Metadata, Native File

When it comes to native files with associated metadata, there is no substitute. In a motion battle over a stipulation on the form of production, the Plaintiff stated that ESI should be produced in native file format with associated metadata. In the event ESI needed to be redacted or was[…]

Santa Clara County Mock Trial Tournament

February 8, 2012 Josh Gilliland High School Mock Trial

High school students across California are participating in the California Rights Foundation statewide mock trial tournament. The 2012 fact pattern involves a murder trial layered with numerous hearsay issues and a hint of eDiscovery for the students. The Santa Clara County Courts, Santa Clara County Bar Association and Santa Clara[…]

Printing ESI & Scanning It Is Not OK

January 27, 2012 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Reasonably Accessible, Reasonably Useable Form, Request for Production

In Indep. Mktg. Group v. Keen, the Defendant-Requesting Party requested the corporate Plaintiff conduct targeted searches with specific key words on specific custodians on the Plaintiff’s server. Indep. Mktg. Group v. Keen, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7702 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 24, 2012). The Plaintiff produced one multiple page PDF without[…]

Smile for the Discovery Production

January 20, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Reasonably Useable Form, Request for Production, Translation Into A Reasonably Useable Form

In a dispute between a photographer and an educational textbook publisher, the Plaintiff sough the production of a definition list to the Defendants’ database abbreviations. Bean v. John Wiley & Sons, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4900, 1-3 (D. Ariz. Jan. 17, 2012). The Defendants’ sales, printing and distribution database was[…]

“Fear” is Not An Objection to Search Terms

January 9, 2012 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery

In a trade secret case involving the search of electronically stored information, the parties disagreed over the use of keywords to search the data sets. Custom Hardware Eng’g & Consulting v. Dowell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146, 7-8 (E.D. Mo. Jan. 3, 2012). The gravamen of the dispute was the[…]

There is Only One Way to Rock Search Terms

December 28, 2011 Josh Gilliland Document Review, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Search Terms

In Re National Association of Music Merchants, Musical Instruments and Equipment Antitrust Litigation involved a dispute over additional searches of electronically stored information using abbreviations and acronyms for previously agreed-upon search terms. Instead of turning the discovery dial up to 11, the Court pulled the plug on the additional search[…]

“Any Party’s” Claims or Defenses

December 23, 2011 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Initial Disclosures

Nothing says Christmas like an opinion by Judge Facciola. Jenkins v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., is litigation over a train crash between two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority trains. Jenkins v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146065 (D.D.C. Dec. 19, 2011). Like almost all litigation,[…]