Electronic Discovery: What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander
A recent California federal case illustrates the importance of being reasonable in litigation. The defendant produced electronic documents on a disk in a non-searchable format, meaning the plaintiff could not simply search for relevant text but would have to look at each page individually. The plaintiff apparently spent $25,000 converting the data into a searchable format to make it easier to use. Later, when the plaintiff produced its own documents in a non-searchable format, the defendant cried foul and filed a motion to compel the plaintiff to reproduce the documents in a searchable format. The District Court denied the defendant's motion in part because the defendant had already done the same thing. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Discovery disputes over the format of electronic documents are going to become commonplace given the volume of electronic files in business and the wasted time and expense if they are produced in a less useful format. Note that under the 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the requesting party has the right to select the format for electronic evidence to be produced in. (Found via the Electronic Discovery Law blog.)