Clear-View Technologies, Inc. v John H. Rasnick, et al (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63579), reads as a list of the things you do not want to do if you want to avoid spoliation sanctions. The underlying dispute involved the development of an alcohol tracking product, and certain shareholders’ alleged conspiracy to steal the technology and start a new company.
Magistrate Judge Peck’s Recent Decision on the Use of Predictive Coding and the Cooperative Obligations Involved
A little more than three years ago, federal Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck (SDNY), issued a seminal decision in Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe & MSL Group, 11 Civ. 1279 (February 24, 2012). Indeed, in that ruling, Judge Peck sent a message that predictive coding and computer assisted review is an appropriate tool that should be “seriously
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Sanctions Inappropriate When Failure to Preserve is the Result of Prior Court Order
Perez v. Metro Dairy Corp., No. 13 CV 2109(RML), 2015 WL 1535296 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 6, 2015)
In this collective action seeking unpaid wages, overtime and other relief, Plaintiffs moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 37 for spoliation sanctions attributable to Defendants’ failure to preserve, and ultimately produce certain relevant employment-related evidence, including, for example payroll records and
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Failure to Implement a Proper and Timely Legal Hold Notice Results in Plaintiff Being Sanctioned
In an earlier post (SEE reference to my top 10 list), I noted the importance of issuing a timely and proper legal hold notice. In case you failed to appreciate the critical importance of this step, a reading of the insurance case of Fidelity Nat. Ins. Co. v. Captiva Lake Invs., 2015 WL 94560 (E.D. Mo. Jan. 7
Never Agree to Do Something Your Client Cannot Do
Under the New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division Rules counsel are expected to agree at the Preliminary Conference as to the method and manner of their e-discovery (“ESI”) production. Counsel will sometimes readily agree to produce emails in their native format, with attendant metadata, without knowing whether or not their clients are able comply with such requirements.
This appears
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What Exactly is The Practice of Law?
In a case that helps clarify what discovery-specific activities constitute the practice of law, District Court Judge Richard Sullivan – a judge in the Southern District of New York – ruled that contract attorneys performing document review for a law firm are not entitled to overtime pay because they are engaged in legal work.
Specifically, the case involved a collective
Better Not Toss A “Crashed” Computer
Judge Kimba M. Wood found for the first time in the Second Circuit in Dorchester Financial Holdings Corp. v Banco BRJ, S.A. that a party must not destroy a “crashed” computer, or it will be subject to a punitive adverse inference. One of the issues in the case was the propriety of certain documents which the defendant claimed were forged.