Recent Articles

California Judicial Council Unanimously Approves e-Discovery Rules

Kevin McBride
April 30, 2008 23:10

On April 25, 2008, the California Judicial Council unanimously approved the proposed electronic discovery rules governing state court proceedings.  A press release from the Judicial Council can be found here.   The proposed changes will now be presented to the California...

9th Circuit Allows Seizure of "Intermingled Files" in Balco Steroid Cases

Kevin McBride
April 08, 2008 01:52

In US v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. et al, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed a Fourth Amendment issue arising from an IRS seizure of "intermingled computer files" in executing a subpoena related to the steroids investigation of the Bay Area Lab Cooperative...

California Supreme Court Spells Out "Inadvertent Production" Duty

Kevin McBride
March 31, 2008 01:34

In Rico v. Mitsubishi Motors Corp., (2007) 42 Cal.4th 807, the California Supreme Court recognized an affirmative duty of counsel who receive inadvertent productions that are obviously identifiable as confidential or privileged:When a lawyer who receives materials that obviously appear to be...

Microsoft Offers (Free) e-Discovery Tools

Kevin McBride
March 20, 2008 01:49

How do you confidently identify, preserve and collect documents from your client's computer network--on a budget? Microsoft has an answer--use Windows SharePoint Services and Search Server Express, which can be downloaded as free add-ons to Windows Server 2003 / 2008. ...

CACD Mag. Judge Mumm Addresses e-Discovery Fundamentals in Katz Litigation

Kevin McBride
March 13, 2008 21:41

Magistrate Judge Frederick F. Mumm (Central District of California) recently issued a case management order in In re: Katz Patent Litigation covering a number of common e-discovery issues:   document preservation document production formats meet and confer obligations ...

Mag. Judge Chapman Rejects "Confidentiality" Designation and Addresses "Undue Burden"

Kevin McBride
March 11, 2008 19:46

In Hill v. Eddie Bauer, Magistrate Judge Rosalyn M. Chapman (Spring Street Courthouse) required production of alleged "confidential and proprietary" information without a protective order where defendant failed to provide a proper showing that the information was, in fact,...

Qualcomm's Outside Counsel Allowed to Raise "Self-Defense" Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege

Kevin McBride
March 06, 2008 23:38

Judge Rudi M. Brewster (Calif. Southern District Court) has remanded part of the sanctions order against Qualcomm's outside counsel in a remand order issued March 5, 2008. Judge Brewster allowed six of Qualcomm's outside attorneys to raise the federal common law "self-defense"...

CACD Mag. Judge Hillman Finds Failures in Document Search

Kevin McBride
February 29, 2008 23:04

 In Wingnut Films v. Katja Motion Pictures, CACD Magistrate Judge Steven J. Hillman (Roybal Courthouse) entered findings of fact and conclusions of law against New Line Cinema Corp. for improper discovery conduct.  Judge Hillman found, among other things, that New Line...

CACD Mag. Judge Chooljian Orders Production of Server Log Data

Kevin McBride
February 29, 2008 21:28

Columbia Pictures v. Bunnell (CACD) is one of the music industry’s noted cases against illegal file sharing of downloaded music.  The opinion was authored by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian (Spring Street Courthouse). The discovery dispute centered around: (a) whether...

CACD Judge Dale Fischer Addresses Document Preservation Duty

Kevin McBride
February 29, 2008 20:54

In Housing Rights Center v. Sterling, CACD Judge Dale S. Fischer (Roybal Courthouse) articulated a clear policy requiring document preservation during litigation. Judge Fischer’s opinion largely relies on the landmark case addressing the preservation obligation, Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC,...