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The. court. agreed. that. those. costs. should. be. paid;. how-
ever,.the.judge.reduced.the.rate.considerably.for.one.attorney.
with. the. statement. that. her. “inhibited. ability. to. participate.
meaningfully.in.electronic.discovery”.was.indicative.of.“nov-
ice.skills.in.this.area”.and.not.“experienced.council.”
*
That.had.to.hurt..The.lesson.here.is.once.again.to.recog-
nize.that.courts.will.not.tolerate.incompetence.in.the.produc-
tion.and.management.of.relevant.electronic.evidence.
1.2.3.16. .United.Central.Bank.v..Kanan.
Fashions,.Inc..(N.D..Ill..9/21/11)—
Spoliation.Sanctions.That.Hurt.
the.Party.but.Not.Their.Attorney
In.this.more.recent.case.we.get.to.see.what.happens.when.
you.try.to.fool.the.judge..The.defendants,.Kanan.Fashions,.
had.a.server.with.relevant.information.stored.on.it.that.was.
slated.to.be.sold.as.part.of.an.acquisition..However,.they.were.
told.numerous.times.by.their.attorneys.that.they.had.a.duty.
to.preserve.it.due.to.the.court.case.they.were.involved.in.with.
the.United.Central.Bank.
They. “forgot”. and. let. the. server. be. sold. and. moved. to.
a. company. in. Dubai. where. it. was. subsequently. reimaged.
and.“lost”.to.production.for.the.case..The.court.called.this.
“elaborate. spoliation”. and. recommended. sanctions. against.
the.defendants.
The.judge.declined.to.sanction.the.attorneys.because.they.
were.lied.to.and.kept.in.the.dark.about.the.server.being.sold.
and.sent.away.
Bottom.line,.it.is.always.the.responsibility.of.the.organiza-
tion.in.the.end..If.you.do.a.good.job.as.an.attorney.and.docu-
ment.that.you.did.so,.you.can.avoid.sanctions.
*.
http://ediscovery.quarles.com/uploads/ile/Chen%20decision.pdf,. pg. 3,. line.
1..Retrieved.2012-03-09.
