Litigation Hold – Page 3

Raiders of the Lost Hard Drive

April 23, 2010 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold

Legend says in 2005, litigation began over cell phone towers and “monopoles.” Discovery was extensive. Summary judgment motions were lost and won. Time had past. And then, what was lost was then found. When You Find the Ark of the e-Discovery Covenant A custodian’s computer was found in September 2008[…]

A Field Day of Litigation Holds

April 2, 2010 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, Litigation Hold

A music festival known as “Field Day” sued a County for the denial to issue a permit for a concert that included First Amendment and business tort causes of action. Field Day, LLC v. County of Suffolk, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28476 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 25, 2010). The Plaintiffs alleged that[…]

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

March 29, 2010 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, ethics, Litigation Hold

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.[…]

Discovery Games in Gaming Litigation

December 24, 2009 Josh Gilliland Discovery, Document Review, Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Litigation Hold, Reasonably Accessible, Request for Production

Discovery games were taking place in a gaming case in Mississippi. The Plaintiffs brought a motion to strike and a motion for sanctions for discovery misconduct in responding to requests for electronically stored information. Maggette v. BL Dev. Corp., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116789 (N.D. Miss. Nov. 24, 2009). The[…]

Proving Up Destroyed ESI is Favorable to Your Position is Hard to Do

October 14, 2009 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold

In an ADA employment case, the Plaintiff sought spoliation sanctions and an adverse inference instruction for the destruction of electronically stored information (ESI). Scalera v. Electrograph Sys., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91572 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2009). The Plaintiff lost. The Discovery Requests The Plaintiff sought the[…]

A Three Page Order Hitting De-Duplication & Litigation Holds

September 28, 2009 Josh Gilliland Culling, De-Dupe, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold

From the plains of Kansas comes another short and powerful order by Magistrate Judge David Waxse. On Constitution Day, Judge Waxse was very busy in White v. Graceland College Ctr. for Prof’l Dev. & Lifelong Learning, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85849 (D. Kan. Sept. 18, 2009). For an earlier[…]

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words, but Sanctions are Priceless

September 21, 2009 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, e-Discovery, Electronically Stored Information, ESI, Litigation Hold

The Defendants in Green v. McClendon, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71860 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2009) attempted to purchase a $4.2 million painting. As the Defendants’ marriage ended in divorce, the Defendants (who never took physical ownership) did not complete their payments. The Plaintiff sought sanctions against both the Defendant and[…]

Lions, Tigers & Bears: Failing to Preserve ESI, Search Terms and Forensically Imaging Computers

September 16, 2009 Josh Gilliland Duty to Preserve, Electronically Stored Information, Litigation Hold, Search Terms, Spoliation

In Treppel v. Biovail Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25867 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) the Plaintiff brought an action alleging a smear campaign against him. The Defendants in turn claimed the Plaintiff defamed their CEO and caused their stock to drop in value. No matter what the truth is, these parties are[…]

Strategies for a Litigation Hold Letter

September 7, 2009 Josh Gilliland Litigation Hold

Discussion of case law examples of what should go in a litigation hold letter.

Spoliation! A New Drama at the District Courthouse about a Litigation Hold and Missing Electronically Stored Information

August 24, 2009 Josh Gilliland Electronically Stored Information, Email, ESI, Litigation Hold

The stage is set: There is a triggering event for a lawsuit, a litigation hold is enacted and evidence is preserved. A drama played out not according to the above script with a law firm and client almost ending up on the hook for a botched litigation hold. In Pinstripe, Inc. v. Manpower, Inc., the[…]