When Is the Sanction of An Adverse Inference Appropriate?
The sanction of an adverse inference is appropriate, but not mandatory, in cases involving the negligent destruction of evidence. The court will determine on a case-by-case basis whether sanctions are...
View ArticleCompanies ARE Responsible for Contractors’ Conduct – Even if the Contractors...
While this case involves the alleged infringement of multiple different types of intellectual property—both patents and copyrights—along with allegations of the misappropriation of trade secrets, I...
View ArticleCan a Former Employee Get Away with Evidence Spoliation?
We often hear about the use of forensic evidence in murder mysteries pertaining to DNA testing or finding fingerprints at the murder scene. As technology continues to advance, however, forensic...
View ArticleWhat Should a Litigant Do When Discovering from a Small-Time Adversary?
United States Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tomlinson of the Eastern District of New York recently denied a defendant law firm’s motion to impose sanctions and an adverse inference against its former...
View ArticleWhen Are Parties Entitled to “Sample” Private Social Media Activity to...
In this case, the plaintiff sued her former employer for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by requiring her to work forty-eight hours a week without an uninterrupted lunch break, and only...
View ArticleWhen Will Protective Coding Finally See Its Day In Court?
The Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Peck may have changed the way attorneys view discovery procedures forever. In an unprecedented ruling, Judge Peck held in Da Silva Moore v. Publicis...
View ArticleDocument Refinement and its Apparent Prejudices
On December 16, 2015, the Honorable Susan D. Wingenton granted GDC’s Motion to Quash Defendants William Baroni and Bridget Kelly’s subpoena duces tecum, which asked the GDC to produce “Any and all...
View ArticleCan One Government Agency Be Sanctioned For the Deletion of Emails That...
In Wandering Dago Inc. v. New York State Office of General Services, Judge Randolph F. Treece, writing for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, held that officials in...
View ArticleWhat Should Related Foreign Entities Do When Facing Spoliation Sanctions...
Regulatory leviathan incompetency may lead to preclusion sanctions. But this doesn’t matter if the sanctions preclude two directors of alleged foreign shell entities from “offering testimony,...
View ArticleInadvertent Disclosures: Who Benefits?
Plaintiff Steve Pick filed suit against Defendant City of Remsen (and other defendants) alleging, among other claims, violations of constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pick served the...
View ArticleExpert Reports: When Must You Disclose?
When Robocast saw the new UI (user interface) for the Microsoft Xbox 360 “Video” and “Home” channels, Windows 8 Xbox Music Box software, Bing.com, MSNBC.com, and MSN.com, all which utilized a video...
View ArticleWatch Out, Facebook Posts and Texts Can Be Discoverable Material!
In this case, the Plaintiff Ms. Veronica Painter is suing her employer, Defendant Aaron Atwood, D.D.S. Painter claimed that while she was at work, the dentist climbed on top of her with his pants down...
View ArticleCan Employers Use Social Media Activity to Prove Laziness in the Workplace?
Can an employer on the hook for unpaid overtime request every social media post made by an employee during a three-year period in order to show that the employee was working on her electronic image...
View ArticlePreserve, Preserve, Preserve!
Author: Nick Plinio Cases cited: Estate of Shaw v. Marcus, Nos. 14 Civ. 3849 (NSR) (JCM), 14 Civ. 5653 (NSR) (JCM), 2017 WL 825317 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 1, 2017); Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 216 F.R.D. 280,...
View ArticleDon’t Make the Same Mistake Twice
Author: Victoria FerenzCase Citation: Irth Solutions LLC v. Windstream Communications LLC, No. 2:16-cv-219 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 2, 2017)Employee/Personnel/Employer Implicated: In-house Counsel, litigation...
View ArticleWhat Happens When an Effort to Expedite ESI Discovery Turns into a Quagmire...
Author: Kiersten A. Fowler Case Citation: EPAC Technologies, Inc. v. HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53360 (M.D. Tenn., March 29, 2018). Employee/Personnel/Employer...
View ArticleWhat Should a Party Do When Filing a Renewed Motion to Compel? The Secret to...
Author: Kiersten A. Fowler Case citation: Firefighters’ Ret. Sys. v. Citco Grp. Ltd., Civ. Action No. 13-373-SDD-EWD (M.D. La. Jan. 3, 2018) Employee/Personnel/Employer Implicated: Firefighters’...
View ArticleWhat Is One Issue Defendant Airline Companies Can’t Fly Away From? A...
Author: Maria A. GrajalesCase Citation: In Re Domestic Airline Travel Antitrust Litigation, No. 15-1404, 2018 WL 4441507 (D. D.C. Sept. 13, 2018).Employee/Personnel/Employer Implicated: Outside...
View ArticleNever Spend Your Money Before You Have It, And Never Allege Discovery Issues...
Author: Ashley E. MorganCase Citation: Physicians All. Corp. v. WellCare Health Ins. of Ariz., Inc., No. 16-203-SDD-RLB (M.D. La. Feb. 27, 2018) Employee/Personnel/Employer Implicated: Defendant...
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