Discovery disputes in class actions often focus on plaintiffs’ requests for computer data regarding putative class members’ claims, and how far defendants need to go in providing such data. An Illinois federal court recently addressed this in an employment class action. The key takeaways from this opinion are that: (1) a defendant was not required
Discovery
Insights From FDCC Program On December 2015 Amendments To Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
Last week, I attended an excellent program of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel regarding how the December 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are impacting the defense of class actions and other complex litigation. (For a summary of the amendments pertinent to class action practice, see my November 20 blog…
2015 Amendments to Federal Rules – Impact on Class Actions
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
Various amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are taking effect on December 1. Here are my thoughts on how these amendments may impact the defense of class actions:
- Greater Emphasis on Proportionality: The new Rule 26(b)(1) will expressly limit discovery to that which is “proportional to the needs of the case, considering
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Predictive Coding: Insights from Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) Annual Meeting
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
At the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) annual meeting, I recently attended an excellent program on predictive coding presented by Howard Merten of Partridge, Snow & Hahn in Providence, RI, Matt Nelson of Symantec, and Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck of the Southern District of New York (who has written a leading article and…
Proposed Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Potential Impact on Class Actions
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
A recent article in Corporate Counsel and an EpsteinBeckerGreen client alert report that the federal courts’ Advisory Committee on Civil Rules has voted to recommend a slate of amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A copy of the proposed amendments does not yet appear to be available online. As reported in these articles…
Insights from the ABA National Institute on E-Discovery – Part 2
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery, Seminars/Programs
Here is the second installment of insights I gleaned from the ABA National Institute on E-Discovery:
- Federal Rules Amendment Process: Judge Koeltl of the Southern District of New York led a panel that provided a thorough update on potential amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Consideration is being given to making
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Insights from the ABA National Institute on E-Discovery – Part 1
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery, Seminars/Programs
Last week I attended the ABA National Institute on E-Discovery in New York. Here is part one of my summary of some key insights from the conference:
- Use of Social Media by Company Employees: When companies allow their employees to access social media websites from corporate computers and information regarding company business is posted
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Recent Property & Casualty Class Action Decisions – Part Two
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Auto Insurance, Discovery
Here is the second installment of my summaries of significant recent P&C class action decisions:
- Seabron v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41451 (D. Colo. Mar. 27, 2012): This is a relatively rare written opinion on several discovery issues that often arise in insurance class actions. The court resolves a
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Are E-Discovery Costs Recoverable? In Part, Says the Third Circuit
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
A major expense for defendants in class actions is the cost for electronic discovery vendors to collect, search through, process and host electronic data to be produced in discovery. These often amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. These costs are likely to rise with the advent of computer-assisted predictive coding (see my March 9…
Apex Deposition Doctrine: New Decision By West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Discovery
I recently posted about a new article in the Defense Research Institute’s For the Defense publication, addressing the apex doctrine, in which courts have placed limits on depositions of senior executives of corporations and high-ranking government officials. Shortly after publishing that post, I came across a new decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court…