For e-Discovery Efforts “Wholly Devoid of Competence” and for Spoliation, Court Orders Sanctions and Prohibits Indemnification from Insurer PIC Group, Inc. v. LandCoast Insulation, Inc., No. 1:09-CV-662-KS-MTP, 2011 WL 2669144 (S.D. Miss. July 7, 2011) A Special Master determined that defendant’s discovery failures were largely the result of a “callous and careless attitude” rather than [...]

[Update] Pulte Gets Pinched for Spoliation Follow @cspizzirri UPDATE: I have amended my post based on some very thoughtful clarification from Dennis Kiker in the comments. Added text is underlined, and deleted text is struckthrough. ORIGINAL POST (February 28, 2011): LTN reports that national home builder Pulte Homes was caught deleting emails and wiping hard [...]

DuPont v. Kolon: A Lesson In How To Avoid Sanctions For Spoliation Of Evidence Two recent decisions in the same case illustrate that, when it comes to imposing sanctions for spoliation of evidence, what matters is not simply whether you’ve intentionally deleted relevant evidence, but how you go about deleting it, and what the record [...]

Timing is Still Everything: Motion for Spoliation Sanctions Denied as Untimely Am. Nat’l Prop. & Cas. Co. v. Campbell Ins., Inc., No. 3:08-cv-00604, 2011 WL 3021399 (M.D. Tenn. July 22, 2011) In this case, the court denied plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence as untimely, citing the facts that it had been 14 months since the alleged [...]

For Key Employees’ Bad Faith, Intentional Spoliation, Court Imposes Adverse Inference and Monetary Sanctions E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Kolon Indus., Inc., No. 3:09cv58, 2011 WL 2966862 (E.D. Va. July 21, 2011) The court found that defendant breached its preservation duty when key employees intentionally deleted ESI in bad faith.  Acknowledging Kolon’s [...]

An article by Eric Sinrod led me to an excellent, current case discussing spoliation law and sanctions law. The case demonstrates the serious consequences of spoliation: default judgment and attorneys fees sanctions.