For some, discovery is merely a necessary evil in the litigation process.  And so, it should come as no surprise that the discovery process is often ripe with gamesmanship.  A recent decision reminds practitioners, however, that discovery is meant to be cooperative, and gamesmanship – especially repetitive and intentional gamesmanship – may be met with “death penalty sanctions” (Heslin
Continue Reading Court Reminds Parties That Discovery Orders Are Not a Hoax

It is estimated that more than 100 million people are wearing an Apple Watch* and another approximately 31 million people are using the Fitbit.** It is further predicted that sales and use of these devices will continue to grow. And so, as people increasingly look for wearables that both “make technology more personal” and include a “cool factor”
Continue Reading Fit For Discovery: The Discoverability of Wearable Devices

Employing search terms to identify documents relevant to a lawsuit is a commonly accepted practice.  However, issues inevitably arise during the process of crafting search terms.  For example, how are search terms agreed upon?  What is the proper scope of search terms? Are the proposed terms appropriate for identifying different types of electronically stored information (“ESI”)?  A decision out of
Continue Reading Courts Won’t Go “Where Angels Fear to Tread” When Deciding On Search Term Issues

As the pandemic continues and businesses adapt to the realities of virtual workforces, the “Zoom-Bombing” pranks housemates played on one another are a thing of the past.*  Rather, we now must confront the discovery implications this virtual shift presents.  For example, the increased use of virtual platforms, replete with recording features, may expose a litigant to discovery obligations beyond
Continue Reading Is Your Zoom-Bombed Meeting Discoverable?

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920, a prevailing party may have a right to recover certain costs associated with the litigation.  Many prevailing parties seek to recoup costs attendant to e-discovery, given the expense associated with collecting, processing and producing electronically stored information (“ESI”).  However, most federal courts confronting the issue have determined that e-discovery costs are recoverable only in
Continue Reading The Costs of E-Discovery and What May be Recoverable Under 28 U.S.C. § 1920

In today’s “e”-dense world, attorneys often look to leverage technology to facilitate production of electronically stored information (“ESI”) during the discovery process.  We do so in an effort to streamline the collection, review and production process whereby containing costs.  However, as recent decisions demonstrate, parties often disagree on what methodology to use and which analytic tools are best.  Livingston v
Continue Reading The City of Chicago Employs “TAR” to Facilitate Review, But Doing So Is Not Without Issue

Generally, the party producing discovery bears the costs of production. But, shifting to the non-producing party the costs of production is sometimes warranted.  This issue was recently tackled by a Kansas District Court in the matter Lawson v. Spirit AeroSystems, 2020 WL 3288058 (D. Kan. June 18, 2020).

Background

Following his retirement from Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.’s (“Spirit”), plaintiff Larry
Continue Reading If the Proportionality Doesn’t Fit, Courts May Cost-Shift

The Honorable Shira Scheindlin once opined against allowing custodians of ESI to collect their data stating “[s]earching for an answer on Google (or Westlaw or Lexis) is very different from searching for all responsive documents in the FOIA or e-discovery context…” and “most custodians cannot be ‘trusted’” to effectuate a legally sufficient collection.  National Day Laborer Org. Network v US
Continue Reading Self-Collecting ESI Can Be a Dangerous Game

Aldinger v. Alden State Bank is a good reminder of counsel’s obligation to be cooperative in the discovery process.

Aldinger, an employment discrimination case pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, involved a series of discovery disputes including Plaintiff’s motion to compel Defendant to respond to her First Request for the Production of
Continue Reading Federal Judge Finds it is Counsels’ Absence of Good Faith and Cooperation Causing an Increase in Duration and Expense of Litigation

A recent federal district court decision, Lawson et al. v Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc., US Dist Ct, MD Pa, 1:17-CV-1266, Carlson, J., 2019, reminds litigants of the need to tailor discovery requests for electronically stored information (“ESI”).

Before the Court was plaintiffs’ motion to compel defendants’ production of “all” text messages on approximately 100 company-owned
Continue Reading Federal Court Denies Request for Wholesale Disclosure of Text Messages