Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
and.lumped.all.of.the.requested.documentation.into.one.large.
pdf.ile,.so.there.was.no.way.of.telling.easily.where.one.docu-
ment.ended.and.another.one.began.
During. the. case,. the. plaintiff. offered. to. discuss. these.
issues. or. any. other. problems. the. government. had. with. the.
requested. production,. but. the. government. counsel. ignored.
those.offers.
The.court.agreed.with.the.plaintiff.on.all.three.issues..The.
judge. wrote. that. producing. the. documents. in. a. pdf. format.
was.“an.inappropriate.downgrading.of.ESI.”.Not.producing.
iles.in.native.format.made.them.impossible.to.search.
She.also.agreed.that.the.metadata.should.have.been.pro-
duced,.saying,.“By.now,.it.is.well.accepted,.if.not.indisputable,.
that.metadata.is.generally.considered.to.be.an.integral.part.of.
the.electronic.record.”
Finally,.she.said.that.producing.the.evidence.in.one.lump.
document.made.it.unreasonably.burdensome.for.the.plaintiffs.
to.use.the.information.effectively.in.trial.
Judge. Scheindlin. also. made. a. point. of. emphasizing. the.
importance. of. cooperation. between. the. parties. speciically.
when.it.came.to.e-discovery.issues..She.pointed.out.that.the.
entire.dispute.and.resulting.loss.of.time.and.resources.could.
have.been.avoided.if.they.“had.the.good.sense.to.'meet.and.
confer,'.'cooperate'.and.generally.make.every.effort.to.'com-
municate'”.to.resolve.the.form.of.production.issue.
Judge.Scheindlin.pointed.out.that.this.is.not.a.new.issue.
and.that.in.case.after.case.it.has.been.established.that.attor-
neys.must.take.the.time.and.make.the.effort.to.cooperate.and.
“fulill.their.obligations.to.each.other.and.the.court.”
The.lesson.here.is.that.courts.in.all.jurisdictions.and.areas.
of.law.will.expect.litigants.and.their.counsel.to.work.together.
to. produce. usable. and. complete. electronic. evidence.. The.
judges. will. have. higher. expectations. and. less. patience. for.
attorneys.who.do.not.recognize.the.necessity.of.these.prac-
tices. and. the. justiication. for. following. them. to. ensure. that.
justice.is.served.