Knotty Issues of eDiscovery
There are form of production cases that make me mutter, “Say what?” This is one of those cases. In the present case, the parties argued whether they needed to produce ESI as native files or PDFs. The Defendant claimed it would cost a total of $3,000 more to produce ESI[…]
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There are many lawyers who have an unnatural fear of producing associated metadata with ESI productions. I have always viewed this as producing printed paper without ink on the pages. This is one of cases where I scratch my head at the way the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is[…]
Read moreThe form of production and metadata are center of many motions in compel. One such battle was fought in a case in Alaska regarding insurance coverage. The requesting party sought the production of an affidavit of a deceased insured that was key to determining whether a vehicle was covered or[…]
Read morePick your battles is a truism in form of production disputes. In Feist v. Paxfire, Inc., the Plaintiff alleged the Defendant made multiple discovery abuses, from producing email in .msg format and not as TIFF, to making an “intentionally burdensome production.” Feist v. Paxfire, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145024[…]
Read moreMagistrate Judge Stanley Boone had to straighten out a form of production dispute in a consumer protection case over curling irons. As the parties in this case learned, sometimes the form of production needs a detangler. The Plaintiffs requested ESI to be produced in native file format or TIFF with[…]
Read moreNot all native files are in a “reasonably useable form.” To borrow from the Dark Knight, sometimes, producing native files as PDF’s with metadata is the “reasonably useable” form you deserve, but not the one you need for convenient document review. A Plaintiff sought a native file production from a[…]
Read moreHere is my advice: NEVER agree to a stipulation to produce native files when “it is more practical to do so” and agree to productions in PAPER, PDF’s, or TIFFs. Melian Labs v. Triology LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124343 (N.D. Cal.Sept. 4, 2014). That is what happened in Melian Labs v. Triology[…]
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A producing party claimed that it was “impossible” to produce Gmail in Native File Format because, “Gmail account user and Google does not permit its users to copy e-mails and documents in native format.” As such, the Defendant produced the gmail emails by forwarding them to the Plaintiff. Sexton v.[…]
Read moreJudge Paul Cherry wrote a masterful opinion involving an EEOC motion to compel production of agreed upon production formats. The case is an excellent example of the issues very alive over the form of production, understanding technology, educating the Court with expert affidavits, and the value of the meet and[…]
Read moreDefendants in a discovery dispute produced data from a timekeeping database as PDF’s. The Plaintiffs objected, arguing their expert would need to spend 300 to 500 hours converting the PDF’s into a database. The Defendants countered that it would take a team of three to four people between three to[…]
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