Bow Tie Law

Going Too Far with a Litigation Hold: Do Not Secretly Copy the Adverse Party’s Data

In a business divorce, the Plaintiffs received a litigation hold notice from the Defendants.  The Plaintiffs then secretly copied computer files from the Defendants’ data center in Oakland, California through their virtual private network (VPN) connection to the data center.  Joseph Oat Holdings, Inc. v. RCM Digesters, Inc., 665 F. Supp.[…]

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Burning Down MySpace: How Photos Can Get You Fired

Social networking websites can be a source of litigation and Human Resources nightmares.  These sites can also blur the lines between one’s personal and professional life. In Marshall v. Mayor of Savannah a probationary female firefighter was first reprimanded and then fired for her conduct during the reprimand originating from her MySpace photos.  Marshall[…]

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Undue Burden Arguments Must Be Specific, Not Speculative

Seger v. Ernest-Spencer Metals is the story of an industrial accident where the Plaintiff suffered serious bodily injury.  In the ensuing discovery battle, the Producing Party claimed the electronically stored information was from sources that were not reasonably accessible due to undue burden.  Seger v. Ernest-Spencer Metals, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS[…]

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Piercing the Work Product Doctrine: Gamesmanship with Locked PDF’s

The Plaintiffs in Mack v. HH Gregg, Inc. sued the Defendants for breach of contract over the alleged failed installation of dryers. The parties agreed the Defendants would produce a “summary of its dryer installation invoices that would include the state of the sale, date of purchase, amount paid for delivery[…]

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