Evidence Preservation: Handling the Issues in New York and New Jersey
In a recent decision, In re Facebook Inc. Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery imposed litigation sanctions on a former officer and director of Meta Platforms, Inc....more
Disputes related to the relevance and accessibility of the data are one of the most common types of disputes regarding mobile devices. Another common type of dispute is typical with all sources of electronically stored...more
Filing a motion for sanctions under Rule 37(e) requires a strong evidentiary foundation. But there's another factor that's just as critical — timing. Courts have broad discretion in how they handle sanctions, and...more
Every week, the Array team reviews the latest news and analysis about the evolving field of eDiscovery to bring you the topics and trends you need to know. This week’s post covers the period of September 16-22. Here’s what’s...more
On August 5, 2024, District Judge Amit P. Mehta (U.S. District Court, District of Columbia) ruled in United States v. Google LLC that Google violated §2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing the internet search engine market....more
Implementing and enforcing appropriate legal holds is essential to preventing the destruction of data related to current or anticipated litigation and avoiding inadvertent spoliation claims. Depending on the nature of the...more
A motion for an adverse inference was denied in Pratt v. Robbins, et al., 2024 WL 234730, Case No. 5:20-cv-170-GCM (W.D. N.C. Jan. 22, 2024) where Defendants failed to preserve or produce a video that might have contained...more
Every week, the Array team reviews the latest news and analysis about the evolving field of eDiscovery to bring you the topics and trends you need to know. This week’s post covers the week of April 8-14. Here’s what’s...more
If you’ve been following my Case of the Week series, you know we’ve seen a rising trend of courts issuing harsh sanctions, including dismissal, for failure to preserve text messages and other data from mobile devices. This...more
Dismissal of plaintiff’s claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(e)(2) was affirmed in Jones v. Riot Hosp. Grp. LLC, __ F. 4th__, 2024 WL 927669 (9th Cir. Mar. 5, 2024). The case is a textbook example of a plaintiff tanking her own case...more
A motion for spoliation sanctions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(e) was denied in Boshea v. Compass Marketing, Inc., 2024 WL 811468 (D. Md. Feb. 27, 2024). The motion was argued and decided during trial. The suit by a former...more
[Editor’s Note: This article was first published November 15, 2023 and EDRM is grateful to Tom Paskowitz and Robert Keeling of our Trusted Partner, Sidley, for permission to republish. The opinions and positions are those of...more
It’s not a heat wave, it’s a wave of hot eDiscovery case law disputes! Our August 2023 monthly webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog discusses six disputes including a motion to compel a forensic examination...more
Justice delayed isn’t justice denied for eDiscovery case law disputes! Our July 2023 monthly webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog discusses six disputes including custody and control of a personal Google...more
A recent decision declined to find the requisite “intent to deprive” that would merit sanctions under Rule 37(e) when a plaintiff was unable to produce text messages because his phone had been stolen and he had not taken...more
Text-messages-as-evidence has been a hot topic in the popular press lately. The Secret Service apparently lost some volume of text messages surrounding January 6 events even after congressional committees had requested...more
The recent decision In re Keurig Antitrust Litigation, 2022 WL 1082087 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 11, 2022), offers timely examples of how extensive, well-intentioned preservation efforts can go awry – leading to costly motion practice...more
Short, often informal messages have become an increasingly prevalent form of business communication. Whether by sending a simple text message or using a communication application like WhatsApp, Slack, or MS Teams, employees...more
A review of recent case law by EDRM Guardian Partner Exterro’s E-Discovery Case Law Project - Five or so years ago, legal professionals were hearing about “the end of sanctions.” Changes in the Federal Rules of Civil...more
In DR Distributors LLC v. 21 Century Smoking, Inc, v. CB Distributors, Inc. and Carlos Bengos, 2021 WL 185082, No. 12 CV 50324 (1/19/2021), Judge Johnston of the Northern District of Illinois, granted Plaintiff’s motion for...more
In today’s world, there is a tendency to believe that everything must be preserved forever. The common belief is that documents, emails, text messages, etc. cannot be deleted because doing so may be viewed as spoliation...more
The duty to preserve potentially relevant evidence – documentary or electronic – arises when a lawsuit is reasonably anticipated. Although this is a subjective standard, Parlux Fragrances, LLC et al v. S. Carter...more
Video surveillance is ubiquitous today and often sought in connection with injuries or litigation. As a result, courts are increasingly presented with disputes relating to the preservation and production of surveillance...more
The Fourth Circuit upholds severe sanctions against a party who fails to preserve evidence in litigation. A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit emphasizes the importance of preserving...more
All courts agree that litigants asserting attorney-client privilege or work product protection must establish the protection's applicability. But courts take different positions on whether any presumptions guide their...more