A recent case from the Delaware courts from Vice Chancellor Laster has provided what some consider to be a significant departure from traditional notions of proper behavior related to electronic discovery in civil proceedings. While some have interpreted this decision to mean that no company can perform its own data collections, the true meaning of the decision might be quite different than this…perhaps we simply need to be reminded that the courts wish us to walk the walk.
The case in question, Roffe v. Eagle Rock Energy GP, et al., C.A. No. 5258-VCL (Del. Ch. Apr. 8, 2010), should probably be framed more in the light of the recent line of decisions from the Qualcomm case from years back. Specifically, it might be far more accurate to interpret this ruling not as a proscription from self-collection but as a warning to counsel who choose to “phone it in” during the data preservation and collection aspects of electronic discovery. Better said, just as with the Qualcomm sanctions, the Delaware court seems to focus far more on a lawyer’s oversight duties than on any particular technique of forensic preservation and/or collection.
via Self-Collection Prohibited in Delaware (?) « Forensic Update.
