In In re Expungement Petition of Franics A., 2023 WL 5948060 (Appellate Ct. of MD Sept. 13, 2023)(unreported), the intermediate appellate court resolved a novel discovery issue. The Appellate Court affirmed a decision that...more
In CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Spiniello Global, Inc., 2023 WL 5515979 (D. Md. Aug. 25, 2023)(Bredar, C.J.), the Court denied spoliation motions, in part because they were filed too late. The plaintiff owned and operated...more
I have written several blogs on emojis, such as Emoji Forms a Contract and What Do Judge Peck’s 2009 Wm. Gross Opinion and “Zoomers” Have to Do With Each Other? In both blogs, I pointed to Prof. Eric Goldman’s writings as an...more
I always advocate for civility and cooperation in e-discovery. But, it may be prudent to expressly threaten a lawsuit in a preservation notice. It may also be cautious to avoid offering to settle a claim in that notice. If...more
In Van Croft v. Louis, 2023 WL 4421571 (D. Md. July 10, 2023)(Xinis, J.), the Court rejected a poorly-asserted, pro sespoliation claim. The plaintiff sued “her former paramour,” his wife, and a restaurant for injuries when...more
The issue of whether irrelevant material in a relevant document can be redacted when the document is produced in discovery has long been a hot topic. See, e.g., Relevance Redactions Rejected – Rule 26(f) Resolution –...more
In Jennings v. Frostburg State University, 2023 WL 4205665 (D. Md. June 27, 2033), defendants wiped two cell phones of departing employees after the duty to preserve was triggered. The Court’s duty to preserve analysis –...more
The parties in In re StubHub Refund Litigation, 2023 WL 3092972 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 25, 2023), agreed to an ESI protocol that was incorporated into a court order. The protocol called for “modern attachments” to be produced with...more
The Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice & Procedure (“Rules Committee”) met on May 19, 2023, and recommended a number of changes to the Maryland Rules. This blog is limited to proposed changes related to formal...more
Phil Favro and The Sedona Conference have released “Selected eDiscovery and ESI Case Law from 2022-23” (2023). This is a sequel to Phil’s 2021-22 publication. I wrote that the prior book was “an excellent resource in an...more
“Before me is Plaintiffs’ Motion for Sanctions…. I will not mince words. I hate motions for sanctions. Based on my experience for roughly 25 years as a lawyer, and now for the past five years as a judge, most such motions are...more
The key takeaway from G.H. Le Doux v. Western Express, Inc., 2023 WL 2842777 (W.D. Va. Apr. 7, 2023), is don’t spoliate evidence when your opponent has a photograph of it. While the Le Doux defendant “succeeded in destroying...more
When it comes to electronically stored information, Tom O’Connor is a national treasure. He has a wealth of litigation-related ESI experience, helped run the prestigious Georgetown E-Discovery Academy, lectures on recent...more
In Doe v. Willis, 2023 WL 2918507 (M.D. Fl. Apr. 12, 2023), the plaintiff’s lawyer imposed an oral legal hold, telling her that she should not delete texts, throw away evidence, or post anything on Facebook, and: “That’s...more
Boshea v. Compass Marketing, Inc., 2023 WL 2743333 (D. Md. Mar. 31, 2023)(Hollander, J.), involved authentication of disputed electronically stored information. “Authentication” is a necessary predicate to all uses of ESI:...more