Discovery – Page 8 – Bow Tie Law

Is ONE Keyword Adequate for a Search?

May 21, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Motion to Compel, Request for Production, Search Terms

Magistrate Judge Facciola’s Asarco, Inc. v. United States EPA, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37182 (D.D.C. Apr. 28, 2009) dealt with a very brief issue: Was one keyword adequate for the search of electronically stored information? Short answer: No In Asarco, the Plaintiff opposed a summary judgment motion and sought leave[…]

Surfing for Personal Jurisdiction from Online Activity

May 13, 2009 Josh Gilliland Blogging, Discovery, e-Discovery, Personal Jurisdiction

The internet has made applying the traditional touchstones for personal jurisdiction challenging. Ever so slowly courts have addressed the personal jurisdiction questions in internet cases, to arrive at a point now where there may not be bright lines to guide us; but there are definitely guidelines emerging. U.S. District Court[…]

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. […]

Know Your Client’s ESI: You Really Don’t Want a Judge Saying, “This is Unacceptable”

May 1, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Duty of Care, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold, Request for Production

This may surprise a few people: There is another magistrate judge besides Judge Waxse writing ESI opinions in Kansas. Magistrate Judge Donald Bostwick issued an order granting in part and denying in part a motion to compel ESI in Patterson v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS[…]

Status Messages and Client Confidences

April 29, 2009 Josh Gilliland Attorney Client Privilege, Blogging, Discovery, Duty of Care, e-Discovery, ethics, Facebook, Work Product Doctrine

Web 2.0 marketing is a highly effective way for lawyers to promote their services to prospective clients. Web 2.0 marketing is leveraging collaborative programs hosted over the Internet, such as social networking sites or Wikis, to provide content highlighting an attorney’s services. This form of marketing could also result in[…]

Prescription for Spoliation: A Short Legal Review

April 22, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Email, Spoliation

Two drug companies in litigation ended up in a legal brawl over spoliation of backup tapes. The Defendants claimed the Plaintiffs either intentionally or recklessly destroyed back up tapes with key email messages that tended to show the Plaintiffs’ drug “escitalopram” did not produce “unexpected results” and therefore was “obvious.”[…]

When Contract Law Collides with Social Networking & Online Movie Rentals

April 18, 2009 Josh Gilliland Choice of Law, Contract Law, Discovery, e-Discovery, Facebook, Forum Selection, Illusory Contract, Online Movie Rental, Social Networking

Every now and then, there comes a case that gives me law school flashbacks. Professor Rohwer, my old Contracts professor, this one’s for you. Harris v. Blockbuster, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31531 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 15, 2009) involves Blockbuster allegedly violating the Video Privacy Protection Act. Blockbuster Online (an online[…]

Check Please: Challenging a PDF Form of Production

April 15, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Form of Production, Request for Production

Rahman v. Smith & Wollensky Rest. Group, Inc., is an employment discrimination case where the Defendants produced guest checks from a database in PDF format on CD-ROM, in three-year batches, with a unique index number identifying each check. Rahman v. Smith & Wollensky Rest. Group, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS[…]

Spinning the Spoliation Record (OR, Download MP3 Sanctions)

April 6, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, ethics, Music Downloads, Piracy, Request for Production

I watched David Boies argue the original Napster case on CSPAN while taking Computer and Internet Law at McGeorge, University of the Pacific. David Boies is more remembered for later representing Vice President Al Gore in the Bush v Gore legal saga. Online music downloads have caused litigation with the[…]

Magistrate Judge Peck’s Search Term Wake-Up Call

March 31, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Email, Request for Production, Search Terms

This Opinion should serve as a wake-up call to the Bar in this District about the need for careful thought, quality control, testing, and cooperation with opposing counsel in designing search terms or “keywords” to be used to produce emails or other electronically stored information (“ESI”). Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck,[…]