e-Discovery – Page 27

Procrastination and Objecting to the Form of Production Don’t Mix

May 22, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Form of Production, Metadata, Motion to Compel, Request for Production, TIFF

It is beyond cavil that this entire problem could have been avoided had there been an explicit agreement between the parties as to production, but as that ship has sailed, it is without question unduly burdensome to a party months after production to require that party to reconstitute their entire[…]

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[…]

Who Delivers a Litigation Hold Notice to the Post Office?

May 18, 2009 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold, Spoliation

Procedural Overview A mail clerk sued the United States Post Office and settled her lawsuit 1999. The Plaintiff sued the Post Office again, claiming the Defendants engaged in a campaign of harassment. The Plaintiff brought a second lawsuit for violations of Title VII and breach of contract. Phillips v. Potter,[…]

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[…]

Producing Social Networking Profiles: What Court has Jurisdiction?

May 12, 2009 Josh Gilliland Deposition, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Facebook, Social Networking

A Facebook user in Massachusetts was facing criminal charges in Massachusetts for criminal harassment and threats to commit a crime from Facebook messages. Skerry, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38804, 1-2 (D. Cal. 2009). The Petitioner sought the emergency deposition of Facebook’s “recorder keeper” because of the concern Facebook periodically purged its information system. Skerry, 2-4.

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[…]

Local Political Drama: Text Messages, Employee Hard Drives and Wrongful Termination

April 27, 2009 Josh Gilliland e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Text Messages

Williams v. City of Franklin, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33200 (M.D. Tenn. Apr. 16, 2009) is an ESI free for all. The case is a local political drama that sounds like a Hollywood production. There are threatening text messages from an alderman and then rummaging through an employee’s laptops for[…]

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.”[…]