A recent decision by a U.S. District court judge in the Southern District of New York serves as a reminder of the prevalent role that technology plays in our daily lives; as well as what can happen when we forget or "neglect" that fact. This weeks Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported on the case of Pension Committee of the University of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of America Securities, LLC. In the decision, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, who has authored prior decisions regarding "electronic discovery" ruled that while the plaintiffs in the case did not "egregiously destroy emails", they deserved to be sanctioned for failing to "properly preserve" evidence. What makes this case particularly interesting is that, in the course of litigation, I still find it astounding what people put in emails, thinking that their emails are "secret" in some way, or differ, in any respect, from any other document. To the contrary, the first thing I ask for in litigation "discovery" is "all emails in any way relating to the case or matter at issue". In cases where there is evidence that all such information has not been produced, or that someone attempted to delete it, judges will routinely order a "forensic sweep" of a computers' hard drive. To Continue Reading: Click Here ---------------------------------------------- Source: injuryboard.com By: Bruce Bierhans

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