Tagged: FRCP 26(b)(2)(C)

Parties’ Obligations Under the Federal Rules “Reign” Supreme and Render Language in ESI Protocol Unnecessary

In Raine Group v. Reign Capital, the Southern District of New York highlighted parties’ affirmative obligations under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 34 when conducting ESI searches and determining the identities of custodians and locations of relevant documents or information. In particular, the court emphasized that an agreement regarding keyword search terms should work in “tandem” with the responding party’s independent and inherent obligations to search for and produce documents that are “reasonably accessible, relevant, and responsive within the meaning of Rule 34.” The court also made clear that parties have a fair degree of autonomy in determining what is “reasonable” under Rules 26 and 34. In this trademark infringement case, the plaintiff, a merchant bank with more than 100 employees, objected to certain provisions proposed by the defendant, a two-person real estate firm, in the parties’ ESI protocol and proposed search terms. After the parties’ failure to reach a resolution, the court intervened. The court ruled that the defendant’s proposed language regarding the parties’ search obligations in the ESI protocol was unnecessary, given the scope of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and 34, and because the provisions were overbroad. Specifically, the defendant’s proposal including the following provisions: “The parties also acknowledge that, apart from this ESI protocol, each party has an independent...

Rule Amendments Update: U.S. Supreme Court Adopts Proposed Amendments

On April 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court adopted, without changes, the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (For background information on the proposed amendments, see our previous blog posts from September 25, 2014, June 19, 2014, May 27, 2014, February 10, 2014, and May 6, 2013. Absent action by the United States Congress, the proposed amendments will take effect on December 1, 2015.

Rule Amendments Update: Judicial Conference Approves Proposed Changes

On September 16, 2014, the Judicial Conference approved, without changes, the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (For background information on the proposed amendments and the approval process, see our previous blog posts from June 19, 2014, May 27, 2014, February 10, 2014, and May 6, 2013.) The proposed amendments, which include changes to the definition of the scope of discovery in Rule 26(b)(1) and the applicable standard courts should apply when considering sanctions for ESI spoliation under Rule 37(e), will now be submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for consideration and approval. If adopted by the Supreme Court before May 1, 2015, and Congress does not intervene, the proposed amendments will take effect on December 1, 2015.

Rule Amendments Update: Standing Committee Approves Proposed Changes

On May 29-30, 2014, the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (the “Standing Committee”) met and approved the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (For background information on the proposed amendments, see our previous blog posts from May 27, 2014, February 10, 2014, and May 6, 2013.) The Standing Committee approved the entire slate of proposed amendments, including changes to the scope of discovery, as defined in Rule 26(b)(1), and changes to the standard to be applied by courts when imposing curative measures or sanctions for the spoliation of electronically stored information, as per Rule 37(e). Before approving the proposed amendments, the Standing Committee made several minor revisions, including changes to the proposed Committee Notes to Rules 26 and 37 (the meeting minutes setting forth the precise changes were not available as of writing). The Agenda Book from the Standing Committee’s meeting is available.

Exploration of Sophisticated Cloud Computing Abilities Unnecessary When Responding to Discovery Demands

A new decision out of the District of New Jersey holds that a company need not utilize its cloud-based comprehensive document search tools absent evidence that its standard custodian-based approach to data collection was deficient. In Koninklijke Philips v. Hunt Control Systems, a multi-billion dollar trademark dispute, defendant Hunt Control Systems, Inc. (“Hunt”) served plaintiff Koninklijke Philips N.V. (“Philips”) with discovery demands that included requests for production of electronically stored information (“ESI”). To prepare its response, Philips requested information from eight specific employees.

Court Denies Direct Access to Computer, Phones, and Email Account Absent a Finding of Improper Conduct or Non-Compliance With Discovery Rules

In a recent decision in Carolina Bedding Direct, LLC v. Downen, United States Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson shed light on the limitations placed on discovery by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 and the circumstances under which a requesting party will be denied wholesale access to a responding party’s computer, cell phone, and email account. The decision also reinforces that courts are unlikely to question a responding party’s certification of compliance with discovery requests absent a real showing of improper conduct, even if it is shown that the responding party failed to produce its own email and text messages that were later produced by another party.

A Bad “Day” for a Company Whose In-House Attorney Failed to Properly Preserve Relevant Documents

An Arizona federal court has determined that default judgment, an adverse instruction and monetary damages are proper remedies for in-house counsel’s failure to take the proper steps to preserve potentially relevant evidence after receiving notice of potential litigation. In Day v. LSI Corporation, Docket No. CIV-11-186-TUC-CKJ, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted, in part, the plaintiff-employee’s motion for entry of a default judgment and imposed additional sanctions against the defendant-employer, concluding that the employer’s in-house attorney had a “culpable mind” and acted willfully in failing to carry out the company’s preservation obligations.

Race to the High Court: Hoosier Racing Seeks High Court Review of Third Circuit’s Slashing of E-Discovery Cost Award

The skyrocketing costs of e-discovery in modern day litigation will now be getting at least some attention from the nation’s highest court. Not long ago we reported on a decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to slash recovery of costs by a prevailing party under 28 U.S.C. §1920 in Race Tires America, Inc., et al. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corporation et al., No. 11-2316 (3d Cir. Mar. 16, 2012). In Race Tires, the Third Circuit, while acknowledging a spilt in the circuits, held that costs sought and awarded under §1920 must bear a reasonable connection to duplication of materials in the traditional sense to be recoverable by a prevailing party. Thus, certain e-discovery vendor activities — including conversion of the native files to TIFF images, the scanning of documents for the purpose of creating digital duplicates and the copying of the videos to DVD — could be reimbursed under the statute, while others, like consultant’s charges for data collection, preservation, searching, culling, conversion, and production, could not.

Judge Peck Stays Defendant’s ESI Production in da Silva Moore Pending Resolution of Several Motions

If you’ve been following this blog, then you know that the Monique da Silva Moore, et al. v. Publicis Groupe SA and MSL Group case, in which Magistrate Judge Peck authored the first opinion approving the use of predictive coding, is very contentious. You can read our latest entries discussing this controversial case from March 2 and May 16. It appears there is no sign the tension will abate anytime soon.

Predictive Coding Upheld by District Court: Judge Carter Endorses Judge Peck’s Approval of Computer-Assisted ESI Review

On March 2, 2012, we reported on Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck’s February 24, 2012 decision in Monique Da Silva Moore, et al., v. Publicis Groupe & MSL Group, Civ. No. 11-1279 (ALC)(AJP) (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2012), wherein Judge Peck issued the first judicial opinion approving the use of predictive coding “in appropriate cases.” On April 25, 2012, District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. rejected plaintiffs’ bid to overturn that decision, and cleared the way for the use of computer-assisted ESI review in this case and others.