Data management
Plaintiff displays ‘flagrant disregard’ for court’s orders and discovery process
On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the plaintiff’s failure to provide discovery justified the “last resort” sanction of dismissal.
Party failed to follow court’s ESI Protocol Order in requesting an exception
The court denied a request to produce ESI in native format rather than TIFF files, citing the inability to Bates number a native production.
PDF production ‘not unreasonable,’ but also not ‘unduly burdensome’ to re-produce
Citing FRCP 34 regarding the form of production, the court ordered a party to re-produce emails in native format rather than as searchable PDFs.
Facing ‘unclear’ evidence, court concludes that overwritten ESI was never downloaded
The court denied sanctions for spoliation, finding that the disputed ESI had been automatically overwritten before the duty to preserve attached.
The plaintiff’s 16-minute call to attorneys didn’t establish a duty to preserve
The court denied sanctions where the plaintiff “accidentally” deleted emails, rejecting as “speculative” the claim that she had a duty to preserve.
Plaintiff can’t just say he ‘will produce’ responsive discovery
The plaintiff stated that he “will produce” responsive discovery when it is available; the court ordered him to supplement this inadequate response.
