Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.6 The.judge.decides.with.cost.shifting.who.pays.for.what.
this.request.was.for.evidence.that.was.“not.reasonably.acces-
sible”.(duh!).
The.court.agreed.with.the.plaintiff,.but.it.ruled.that.the.data.
were.relevant.and.very.important.to.the.interests.at.stake.in.
the.case,.and.that.there.were.very.substantial.inancial.stakes..
So.the.motion.to.compel.was.granted,.but.the.defendant.had.
to.pay.80%.of.the.costs.of.production.
The. lesson. here. is. to. be. careful. what. you. ask. for!. The.
court. has. the. ability. to. do. what. is. known. as.
cost. shifting
.
(Figure 1.6).. This. means. that. if. there. is. a. inancial. burden.
involved.for.whatever.reason,.the.courts.can.take.into.con-
sideration.several.different.factors.to.decide.who.should.pay..
In.this.case,.they.felt.that.if.the.defendants.really.needed.that.
much.data.and.the.data.were.really.important.to.them,.they.
should.be.willing.to.put.up.the.majority.of.the.money.to.pay.
for.the.cost.of.recovering.and.producing.that.data.
1.2.3.10. .O'Neill.v..the.City.of.Shoreline.(Wash..
9/27/10)—Metadata.Are.Data.and.
Home.Computers.Are.Evidence
In. this. case. the. deputy. mayor. of. the. city. of. Shoreline,.
Washington.(a.suburban.city.to.the.north.of.Seattle).reported.
to.the.city.council.about.an.e-mail.complaining.of.improper.
conduct.by.a.city.employee..The.plaintiff.who.was.supposedly.
