Decisions, Decisions: EDD Cases in 2011

"Case law has rapidly evolved from the humble pronouncements of just a few technology-savvy federal judges," observes Littler Mendelson shareholder Cecil Lynn III, looking back at e-discovery opinions in 2011

Francisco v. Verizon South, Inc. and Race Tires America, Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. are among a rising number or opinions that address reimbursing the prevailing party's e-discovery costs. Thermal Design, Inc. v. Guardian Building Products, Inc. from the Eastern District of Wisconsin demonstrates judges stressing the need to move away from broad discovery demands towards targeted, more proportional requests.

The recently updated Pippins v. KPMG LLP raised the specter of disproportionate preservation demands and the worry that Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge James Cott's (and now District Court Judge Colleen McMahon's) decision might be misapplied. Other opinions addressed sanctions in the face of egregious misconduct, the production of metadata, and social media discovery.

For the full rundown, read Lynn's article, "The View From the Bench: Opinions on E-Discovery in 2011."