Cases and Legislative Updates

Analysis

Vegas Court Spotlights the Importance of Custodian Interviews with New ESI Sources

Philip Favro, Driven | August 30, 2018

The Small v. University Medical Center case tackles questions regarding the existence of information exchanged through new communications media or stored in online locations.

Plaintiffs Lawyers Say Apple Forces Legal Waivers on iPhone Throttlers

Amanda Bronstad | August 10, 2018

Plaintiffs lawyers are asking Apple to stop all communications with customers about refunds and replacements unless they notify them about their right to sue. A hearing on the matter is set for Sept. 28.

Analysis

Dining at Denny’s Brings Adventures in Proportionality

David Horrigan, Relativity | July 20, 2018

Hinostroza v. Denny’s, Inc. provides a proportionality roadmap, illustrating the limits of e-discovery of text messages, email, medical records, social media, and Internet of Things (IoT) data.

Analysis

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act: Do You Have the Correct Consent?

Ana Tagvoryan, Jeffrey Rosenthal and Harrison Brown, Blank Rome | July 18, 2018

The starting point of the consent inquiry is always this: Did the consumer provide his or her telephone number, and if so, what is the content and purpose of the message?

News

Lenovo Settles Lawsuits Over Preinstalled Laptop Adware

Ross Todd | July 13, 2018

The proposed deal would settle claims in multidistrict litigation that preinstalled software the computer maker included on laptops left them vulnerable to hackers and decreased performance.

Q&A

When Privacy Prevails: ACLU Lawyer Dishes on SCOTUS' Carpenter Decision

Ian Lopez | June 29, 2018

Nathan Wessler, who argued 'Carpenter' before the SCOTUS, said the decision made way for courts to address protections for "highly sensitive" data held by third-party companies.

Analysis

Court Cuts Down Unfettered Discovery in Volkswagen Clean Diesel Case

Mike Hamilton, Exterro | June 26, 2018

The In Re: Volkswagen ruling over FRCP 34 shows courts are looking to prevent fishing expeditions.

News

Judge Grills Anthem Case Plaintiffs Lawyers Over Discovery, Counsel Selection

Ross Todd | June 14, 2018

At a hearing on a special master's report on the firms' billings, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh asked for more detailed records about who did what on discovery, deposition and settlement issues in the case.

Analysis

Mobile Marketing Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act: Do You Have the Consent You Need?

Ana Tagvoryan, Jeffrey Rosenthal and Harrison Brown, Blank Rome | June 07, 2018

Recent legal trends can help distinguish between informational and transactional text communications, and those that may cross the line into marketing and advertising.

News

New Jersey Supreme Court Won't Take Up Avvo Ethics Case

David Gialanella | June 04, 2018

An opinion by New Jersey legal ethics authorities that deemed Avvo off-limits to lawyers in the state will not be reviewed by the state Supreme Court.

Analysis

Mandatory Arbitration Agreements May Not be Immutable in Cryptocurrency Litigation

Todd Friedman, Kenny Nachwalter; and Justin Wales, Carlton Fields | June 04, 2018

Public access prevailed in the Eleventh Circuit’s recent Leidel v. Coinbase decision, which provides insight for how aggrieved investors may be able to draft pleadings against third-party money service providers.

News

Trump Lawyers Resist DNC Hack Discovery Demand, Calling It a 'Fishing Expedition'

C. Ryan Barber | May 31, 2018

'Discovery also threatens to prejudice individuals who have been or will be indicted, by potentially requiring them to sit for civil depositions despite their privilege against self-incrimination,' Jones Day partner Michael Carvin said in a new filing in Washington's federal trial court.

News

California Supreme Court Leaves Questions Over Access to Private Social Media Posts

Ben Hancock | May 24, 2018

The decision is a mixed bag for social media companies, and leaves open the question of whether criminal defendants can access private or deleted posts from witnesses under the Stored Communications Act.

News

Dispute Over a Tweeting Judge Shouldn't Invite SCOTUS, DOJ Says

Marcia Coyle | May 23, 2018

U.S. solicitor general Noel Francisco told Supreme Court justices that questions surrounding judges’ use of social media 'would benefit from further development in the lower courts.'

Analysis

E-Discovery Sanctions Front Page in BuzzFeed ‘Fake News’ Case

Mike Hamilton, Exterro | February 27, 2018

Not cooperating in e-discovery may be winning a small battle, but in the end you’re doing things that may lose you the war.

Analysis

Recent Cases Offer Lessons on the Limitations of Discovery Sanctions

Phil Favro, Driven | February 16, 2018

GN Netcom and Waymo teach that parties are generally better served by dedicating their energies to obtaining dispositive evidence rather than dispositive sanctions.

Analysis Slideshow

6 Ways E-Discovery Law Changed in 2017

Michele C.S. Lange | December 18, 2017

Hundreds of in-depth judicial opinions issued in 2017 set the stage for e-discovery practices in 2018.

Analysis

Unfinished Business: A Wish List for New FRCP Amendments

Gareth Evans, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Philip Favro, Driven | December 15, 2017

The 2015 amendments had the potential to be transformative. So far, they have succeeded in part. Ambitious as they were, the amendments left unresolved several serious problems.

Analysis

2017: The Year in Data Discovery Case Law

David Horrigan, Relativity | December 13, 2017

Whether it’s high-profile litigants such as Taylor Swift or an e-discovery sanctions case making it to the US Supreme Court, data discovery has made it to legal prime time.

Analysis

Three Key Lessons from New TAR Decision Winfield v. City of New York

Philip Favro, Driven | December 12, 2017

In Winfield, U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker provided direction on issues ranging from attorney work product and Sedona Principle Six to proportionality and active judicial case management.

News

US and UK Judges Celebrate E-discovery Day

Michele C.S. Lange | December 05, 2017

Insightful commentary from the bench highlights where e-discovery practitioners need to focus in 2018.

News

Can Arbitration Solve Tech Sector's Litigation Cost Concerns?

Gabrielle Orum Hernández | October 09, 2017

A recent report identifies budgeting and time as major concerns for tech companies during litigation. Arbitration is an answer, says the report, but pros and cons exist for both dispute resolution mechanisms.