Electronic Discovery and Computer Forensics Case List - Kroll Ontrack

hide the document transfer by deleting information about the downloads from the laptop. Based on
this evidence, the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s finding that the evidence supported a
finding of trade secret misappropriation.
� Attorney Grievance Comm’n of Maryland v. Potter, 844 A.2d 367 (Md. 2004). The court
considered a Petition for a Disciplinary Action filed by the Attorney Grievance Commission against
the defendant, an attorney, for violating the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. Upon
resigning from a law firm, the defendant took paper files pertaining to two clients of the firm stating
that he believed that the clients would choose to have the defendant continue to represent them.
Additionally, the defendant deleted the client files from the firm’s computer without authorization
from the firm. The computer records included all documents prepared by the defendant and the
firm’s secretaries relating to matters involving the clients. The Commission sought suspension of
the attorney’s license alleging that the defendant committed “a criminal act that reflects adversely
on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.” The judge
appointed to hear the initial action held that the defendant did not violate the Code. However, the
court of appeals reversed, finding by “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant’s conduct
in deleting the files violated the Rules of Professional Conduct. The court further noted,
“[n]otwithstanding the attorney’s motive, lawyers in this State may not delete computer records or
take client files…without authorization.” The court concluded that the defendant’s misconduct
warranted a 90 day suspension from the practice of law.
� Thompson v. United States, 219 F.R.D. 93 (D.Md. 2003). The plaintiffs served upon the
defendants a series of Rule 34 document production requests seeking electronic records and email.
When the defendants failed fully to produce these records, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking
sanctions. The court issued Rule 37(b)(2) relief to the plaintiffs by ruling that the defendants could
not call certain witnesses unless they were able to demonstrate that there were no responsive email
records generated or received by the witness or, if such records did exist, that they had been
produced to the plaintiffs by a certain date. Long after the discovery cutoff deadline and the court’s
sanction order, the defendant announced that it had discovered 80,000 e-mail records, after having
repeatedly told the plaintiff and the court that e-mail records either did not exist or already had
been produced. The court revised its previous sanction order, (1) precluding the defendants from
introducing into evidence any of the 80,000 e-mails that were "discovered" at the last minute; (2)
ordering that counsel for the defendants were forbidden to use any of these e-mails to prepare any
of their witnesses for testimony at trial, and that at trial counsel for the defendants were forbidden
from attempting to refresh the recollection of any of their witnesses by using any of the undisclosed
e-mails; (3) ordering that the plaintiffs were permitted to use any of the 80,000 e-mails during their
case and in cross-examining any of the defendants witnesses; (4) ordering that, if the plaintiffs
incurred any additional expense and attorney’s fees in connection with reviewing the 80,000
records and analyzing them for possible use at trial, this could be recovered from the defendants
upon further motion to the court; and (5) ordering that if, at trial, the evidence revealed additional
information regarding the non-production of e-mail, the plaintiffs were free to make a motion to the
court that the failure to produce e-mail records as ordered by this court constituted a contempt of
court.
Virginia
� Global Aerospace, Inc. v. Landow Aviation, L.P., No. CL 61040 (Vir. Cir. Ct. April 23, 2012). In
this state-level consolidated case arising out of the collapse of three hangars during a snowstorm
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