This is timely as we are discussing this case today at 1pm ET on today’s EDRM webinar Important eDiscovery Case Law Decisions for December 2021. This article from Forensic Discovery discusses how issuing a litigation hold isn’t enough when it comes to meeting your duty to preserve, especially when it comes to mobile devices.
Their article Think Mobile Devices Aren’t Important During Discovery? This Case Shows You Why They Are discusses the case In the Matter of In Re Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc., which I covered here.
The case involved construction contractor Skanska and potential economic damages after its barges knocked out the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally, which made landfall in September 2020. Anticipating litigation, Skanska issued a written litigation hold on October 14, 2020, approximately one month after the hurricane.
Among the ESI that Claimants sought from Skanska was the production of cell phone data and the parties agreed to an ESI Protocol that included the production of text messages. Claimants’ first request for production of documents included a request for relevant text messages. In response, Skanska selected thirteen custodians for whom it would provide cell phone data. So far, so good, right?
Not at all. Skanska made several mistakes that led to spoliation of data from several of the cell phones, which, in turn, led to significant sanctions. What happened? And what lessons are learned from the Skanska case? Check out their article here to find out! Issuing a litigation hold isn’t enough when it comes to meeting your duty to preserve, especially when it comes to mobile devices. After checking out their article, come check out our discussion of the case in today’s webinar!
So, what do you think? Has your organization ever been sanctioned, even when issuing a litigation hold? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
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