On October 4, 2016, District Judge Jon S. Tigar issued an opinion every federal court practitioner should read (Rodman v Safeway, Inc., [11-cv-03003] [N.D. Ca.] [JST]). The decision serves as an important reminder that counsel has an obligation to assist their client when identifying and collecting electronic documents responsive to discovery demands. Indeed, it is not sufficient or defensible
Continue Reading Counsel’s Failure to be Meaningfully Involved with Client’s Discovery Collection Costs Client One Half Million Dollars in Discovery Sanctions
The Southern District of New York Rules that It Cannot Force a Responding Party To Use Technology Assisted Review When Searching for Documents
In Hyles v. New York City et. al., (Case No. 10-3119, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100390 [S.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2016], the plaintiff, an African-American female employed by the City of New York, was demoted. Specifically, she was replaced by a white male and demoted to a different position with a lesser salary. Ultimately, plaintiff sued the City for discrimination
Bad Faith Spoliation of Audio Data Results in Adverse Inference Instruction
Novick v. AXA Network, LLC, 2014 WL 5364100 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 22, 2014)
In this contract dispute case, the plaintiff made a motion for sanctions under Rule 37(b)(2) requesting the court strike the defendants’ answer and counterclaims, allow a negative spoliation inference against the defendants and order a monetary fine due to the plaintiff’s “repeated attempts to obtain the at-issue discovery
Continue Reading Bad Faith Spoliation of Audio Data Results in Adverse Inference Instruction
The Dangers of Dilatory Discovery
In Armstrong Pump, Inc. v. Hartman, No. 10-CV-446S, 2014 WL 6908867 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2014), discovery in the breach of contract case was contentious, protracted and resulted in a multiple motions to compel, the first of which the court granted in favor of the defendant. At that time, the court warned the plaintiff “not to engage in piecemeal production
E-Discovery Best Practices to Avoid Discovery Sanctions
In today’s litigious world, discovery is costly and can be perilous. Exacerbating this landscape is the fact that sanctions are imposed for discovery violations more than any other litigation error. Not surprisingly, avoidable discovery mistakes lead to client dissatisfaction. Below are ten critical tips to avoid discovery sanctions and to remain compliant with discovery obligations.
- Implement Timely Litigation Holds Be
Continue Reading E-Discovery Best Practices to Avoid Discovery Sanctions