Claims and Bad Faith Law Blog

ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION (ESI), AMAZON, AND MODEL ORDERS.

In Crosby v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 21-1083-JCC, 2022 WL 522953 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 22, 2022), the plaintiffs successfully challenged the use of a U.S. District Court's Model Agreement And Proposed Order, and lived to tell the tale.

The plaintiffs challenging Amazon in the Crosby case are individuals.  They could not agree with Amazon on what a court order should say to regulate the production and handling of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) in that case:

The parties have been unable to come to an agreement whether to adopt, without modification, the District's model agreement governing Rule 34 production of electronically stored information (“ESI”). See [MODEL] AGREEMENT REGARDING DISCOVERY OF ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER, available at https:// www.wawd.uscourts.gov/court-forms.

Crosby v. Amazon.com, 2022 WL 522953, at *1.

The District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion to modify the Western District of Washington's Model Agreement and Proposed Order, in part.  At the plaintiffs' request, the Court added ten additional search terms and granted the plaintiffs' request for an "expanded timeframe."  Crosby v. Amazon.com, 2022 WL 522953, at *1.

The rest of the plaintiffs' requests were denied.  Thereafter, the Court entered a detailed order accordingly, see Crosby v. Amazon.com, 2022 WL 522953, at *2-*5, during the course of which the Court set forth a compelling justification for its actions:

1. General Principles

1. An attorney's zealous representation of a client is not compromised by conducting discovery in a cooperative manner. The failure of counsel or the parties to litigation to cooperate in facilitating and reasonably limiting discovery requests and responses raises litigation costs and contributes to the risk of sanctions.

Crosby v. Amazon.com, 2022 WL 522953, at ¶1, p. *2.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

THE CONSTITUTION PRESUMES THAT THE PUBLIC CAN ACCESS COURT DOCUMENTS!

I welcome the invitation of the American Constitution Society and Barry Law School to speak at the Seventh Annual Constitutional Law Scholars Forum on Friday, February 25th.  I will be speaking about the Constitution's Presumption of Public Access to Court Files.  The Forum is presented free and online this year, as it was last year.

Join the Forum online!  The Forum is being broadcast from Barry Law School in Orlando, here!  It's free and open to everyone!

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT RECORDS PROTECTED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION!

I am grateful to the American Constitution Society and to Barry Law School for their invitation to speak at the Seventh Annual Constitutional Law Scholars Forum.  I will be speaking on Friday, February 25th about the Constitution's Presumption of Public Access to Court Files.  The Forum is presented free and online this year, as it was last year.

Join the Forum online!  The Forum is being broadcast from Barry Law School in Orlando, here!  It's free and open to everyone!

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

GENERAL OBJECTIONS IGNORED, COURT'S STANDARD STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER OBSERVED.

Once again, general objections repeated endlessly in reply to specific discovery requests are not responses at all.  Stated differently, general objections are not given any attention by the courts whenever specific objections to discovery requests are required by the applicable rules.  See Dyno Nobel, Inc. v. Johnson, NO. 5:21-cv-00322-KKC-MAS, 2022 WL 507431, at *3 (E.D. Ky. Feb. 18, 2022) (Stinnett, USMJ).

Dyno was requested to produce documents in this Kentucky case that were subject to a federal court's standard stipulated protective order in use by the federal court where litigation is pending in Utah.  In this case, the Utah protection was provided in Kentucky as well.  Dyno Nobel, 2022 WL 507431, at *5.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

DISCOVERY CONFIDENTIALITY WEBINAR TOMORROW!

It's a real joy and an honor to be invited to moderate the National Association of Consumer Advocates Discovery Confidentiality Webinar on Tuesday, February 22nd.  The Webinar has a fine, experienced panel that will address confidentiality orders used in litigation, Ariana J. Tadler and Jody Thomas Lopez-Jacobs.  NACA vets attendees at its Webinars, so Email [email protected].  It's an exciting opportunity to share experiences and education!
 

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

WEBINAR ON DISCOVERY CONFIDENTIALITY, COMING UP!

 Readers, here is a link to the Discovery Confidential! page of my website.  Thanks.--Dennis Wall

 Click here for the Mobile/Web Version

Discovery Confidentiality February 22, 2:00 p.m. ET–3:00 p.m. ET Pricing Private Attorney Members: $40 Legal Aid and Public Interest Members: $30 Nonmembers: $90 (if you have not yet been approved to attend NACA webinars, you must email [email protected] to be vetted to attend) Are you interested in learning the methodologies of stipulated protective orders  proposed by defendants’ counsel in every case, large and small? The focus will be on federal court cases, but many of the same principles apply to state court cases, too. The webinar will include a discussion of standards for obtaining protective orders that the parties are bound to follow. This webinar will also provide tips and strategies to improve the pre-discovery stipulated protective orders that judges are most likely to enter in your clients’ cases. In addition, the speakers will examine typical provisions used in actual litigation.  This webinar is useful for practitioners at every level, from those who handle multi-district litigation to individual cases. What You Will Learn How to address negotiations over a stipulated protective order and how you can shape the best possible protections for your client What adversaries will likely propose in their pre-discovery umbrella and stipulated protective orders How to implement preemptive strategies, including judges’ model orders, local rules, and orders approved by the same judge or proposed by the same defendants in other cases Speakers Jody López-Jacobs is a consumer protection attorney based in Philadelphia.  Born in Lancaster, PA, Jody graduated magna cum laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he served on the law review editorial board and won second place in an American Bar Association writing competition. After serving as a federal law clerk in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Jody joined the law firm Flitter Milz, PC, where he litigates individual and class actions involving repossessions, credit reporting, and financing fraud. Jody’s advocacy has resulted in millions of dollars in relief for consumers across the country. In 2021, Jody was named as one of Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars.” Ariana Tadler is the founding partner of Tadler Law LLP, a WBENC-certified, women-owned boutique law firm that offers an array of litigation and legal counseling services. With more than twenty-seven years of experience advocating for consumers and investors against corporate fraud and abuse while litigating and managing securities, consumer and data breach class actions, and complex litigation, Ariana is considered one of the leading women litigators in the country. Ariana is regularly appointed by courts to leadership positions in large, complex federal, multi-district, and state coordinated proceedings because of her extensive experience managing complex litigation. Ariana is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on electronic discovery and pioneered the establishment of an e-Discovery Practice group within a plaintiffs’ firm structure more than fifteen years ago. Dennis Wall is an experienced litigator, mediator, and expert witness in Florida and federal trial and appellate courts. He is an AV- rated attorney and an elected member of the American Law Institute. He has personally litigated the issues addressed in this webinar. The author of four books, he is currently at work on a book about the presumption of public access to judicial and administrative records. He has dedicated a page on his website to resources on discovery confidentiality.   National Association of Consumer Advocates 1215 17th Street NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202.452.1989 | Fax: 202.452.0099 Contact Us

WEBINAR NEXT WEEK: DISCOVERY CONFIDENTIALITY!

 Readers, here is a link to the Discovery Confidential! page of my website.  Thanks.--Dennis Wall

 Click here for the Mobile/Web Version

Discovery Confidentiality February 22, 2:00 p.m. ET–3:00 p.m. ET Pricing Private Attorney Members: $40 Legal Aid and Public Interest Members: $30 Nonmembers: $90 (if you have not yet been approved to attend NACA webinars, you must email [email protected] to be vetted to attend) Are you interested in learning the methodologies of stipulated protective orders  proposed by defendants’ counsel in every case, large and small? The focus will be on federal court cases, but many of the same principles apply to state court cases, too. The webinar will include a discussion of standards for obtaining protective orders that the parties are bound to follow. This webinar will also provide tips and strategies to improve the pre-discovery stipulated protective orders that judges are most likely to enter in your clients’ cases. In addition, the speakers will examine typical provisions used in actual litigation.  This webinar is useful for practitioners at every level, from those who handle multi-district litigation to individual cases. What You Will Learn How to address negotiations over a stipulated protective order and how you can shape the best possible protections for your client What adversaries will likely propose in their pre-discovery umbrella and stipulated protective orders How to implement preemptive strategies, including judges’ model orders, local rules, and orders approved by the same judge or proposed by the same defendants in other cases Speakers Jody López-Jacobs is a consumer protection attorney based in Philadelphia.  Born in Lancaster, PA, Jody graduated magna cum laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he served on the law review editorial board and won second place in an American Bar Association writing competition. After serving as a federal law clerk in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Jody joined the law firm Flitter Milz, PC, where he litigates individual and class actions involving repossessions, credit reporting, and financing fraud. Jody’s advocacy has resulted in millions of dollars in relief for consumers across the country. In 2021, Jody was named as one of Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars.” Ariana Tadler is the founding partner of Tadler Law LLP, a WBENC-certified, women-owned boutique law firm that offers an array of litigation and legal counseling services. With more than twenty-seven years of experience advocating for consumers and investors against corporate fraud and abuse while litigating and managing securities, consumer and data breach class actions, and complex litigation, Ariana is considered one of the leading women litigators in the country. Ariana is regularly appointed by courts to leadership positions in large, complex federal, multi-district, and state coordinated proceedings because of her extensive experience managing complex litigation. Ariana is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on electronic discovery and pioneered the establishment of an e-Discovery Practice group within a plaintiffs’ firm structure more than fifteen years ago. Dennis Wall is an experienced litigator, mediator, and expert witness in Florida and federal trial and appellate courts. He is an AV- rated attorney and an elected member of the American Law Institute. He has personally litigated the issues addressed in this webinar. The author of four books, he is currently at work on a book about the presumption of public access to judicial and administrative records. He has dedicated a page on his website to resources on discovery confidentiality.   National Association of Consumer Advocates 1215 17th Street NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202.452.1989 | Fax: 202.452.0099 Contact Us

PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS: STATE MAKES PUBLIC ACCESS THE DEFAULT.

Thanks to Penn's The Regulatory Review for publishing my essay on the new default of public access to administrative and judicial records as a matter of public policy. You can read my candid thoughts in New Public Access to Court Records on PENN REGULATORY REVIEW, online on Feb. 7, 2022, here:  https://www.theregreview.org/2022/02/07/wall-new-public-access-court-records/

For further research into Discovery Confidentiality, visit the Discovery Confidentiality page of my website.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2022 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.