Archives: E-Discovery Rules

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Dark and Dusty Data and the Risk Your Organization Already Owns

By James A. Sherer on December 16, 2013 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, Ethics

This blog post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. During the final panel of Thomson Reuters’ 17th Annual eDiscovery & Information Governance in Practice Forum, Thomas Barnett, Ignatius Grande, and Sandra Rampersaud led a lively discussion on Managing Big Data, Dark Data, and Risk. And while the exchange incorporated Information Governance 101 principles … Continue Reading

Your Request for Spoliation Sanctions Could Get You Sanctioned

By Jonathan A. Forman on October 10, 2013 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, Spoliation

We like our litigation to be decided on the merits. Sanctions motions based on unsupported claims of spoliation create expensive sideshows that distract from the merits. And sometimes — although perhaps not frequently enough — baseless and abusive motions are punished. Recently, in Smith v. Westchester County Dept. of Corrections, No. 07-CIV-1803 (SDNY), Judge Shira A. Scheindlin … Continue Reading

Judicial Conference Proposes Proportional Discovery Through Amendments to the FRCP

By Carey Busen on June 11, 2013 Posted in E-Discovery Rules

The Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure recently approved for publication proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If enacted, these proposals would significantly limit the scope of discovery – including ediscovery. The proposals include imposing or reducing the number of depositions, interrogatories, and requests for admission under Rules 30, … Continue Reading

Nothing Goes Better with Race Tires than . . . Wine?! – Fourth Circuit Limits Taxable eDiscovery Costs

By Carey Busen on May 8, 2013 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, Taxable Costs

As we’ve discussed multiple times (see here, here, and here), the issue of what types of ediscovery costs are taxable under 28 U.S.C. § 1920 was first addressed by a federal appellate court last spring in Race Tires America, Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. The Third Circuit – in line with the Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading

What You Don’t Know About Your Discovery Vendor Can Get You Sanctioned

By Carey Busen on January 30, 2013 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, E-Discovery Vendor

A recent decision out of the Northern District of Illinois serves as an important reminder to all counsel relying on e-discovery vendors. In Peerless Industries, Inc. v. Crimson AV, LLC, the defendant was found to have control over its China-based supplier and, in particular, over the supplier’s documents. After the defendant’s 30(b)(6) witness was unable … Continue Reading

Judge Warns: Avoid Mechanically Produced Boilerplate Privilege Logs

By Carey Busen on November 12, 2012 Posted in E-Discovery Rules

Co-authored by: Karin Scholz Jenson A recent decision from Judge Facciola of the District Court for the District of Columbia lambasted a party’s unspecific, boilerplate privilege log and directed the party to make “specific and clear claims of privilege.” See Chevron Corp. v. The Weinberg Group (No. 1:11-mc-409, D.D.C.). In Chevron, the Petitioner challenged over … Continue Reading

SCOTUS Declines to Weigh In on the Taxation of e-Discovery Costs

By Carey Busen on October 8, 2012 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, Taxable Costs

We previously discussed both the Third Circuit’s decision striking $300,000 in e-discovery costs from a cost award as non-taxable under 28 U.S.C. § 1920, and the defendants’ subsequent petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. On October 1, the Supreme Court denied the petition. Keep an eye on the appellate courts to see … Continue Reading

Proposed Privacy Law Amendments: Senate Judiciary Committee Fails to Take Up ECPA and VPPA Amendments

By Karin Scholz Jenson on September 14, 2012 Posted in E-Discovery Rules

Authored by: Erica Gann Kitaev Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission to BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor. The Senate Judiciary Committee was slated on Thursday to take up long overdue revisions to the Electronic Communications Protection Act (“ECPA”) and the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), but the issue was held over by the committee. Chairman of … Continue Reading

Will SCOTUS Weigh In on the Taxation of e-Discovery Costs?

By Carey Busen on June 26, 2012 Posted in E-Discovery Rules, Taxable Costs

A few months ago, the Third Circuit slashed a district court’s award of costs by over $300,000, holding that with the exception of scanning and converting native files to TIFF format, e-discovery costs are not recoverable as taxable costs against a losing party under 28 U.S.C. § 1920(4). (See this blog’s discussion of the Third … Continue Reading

Preservation and Cost Shifting: Recent New York Appeals Court Opinions Clarify State Discovery Rules

By Gilbert S. Keteltas on April 23, 2012 Posted in E-Discovery Rules

The New York state Appeals Court has been active in the e-discovery space over the past few months. In Voom HD Holdings LLC v. EchoStar Satellite LLC the court discusses when the duty to preserve information in advance of actual litigation arises. And in U.S. Bank N.A. v. GreenPoint Mtge. Funding, Inc., the court considers … Continue Reading