Federal E-Discovery: Federal Rule 37(e) Applies to Content and Metadata of ESI

Litigation partners Chris Boehning and Dan Toal’s latest Federal E-Discovery column, “Federal Rule 37(e) Applies to Content and Metadata of ESI,” appeared in the February 6 issue of the New York Law Journal. In the article, Chris and Dan discuss how a recent court decision affects the interpretation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e), which was intended to address unique challenges surrounding the preservation of electronically stored information (ESI). While courts have frequently used rule 37(e) when deciding motions for sanctions for ESI spoliation, they have rarely addressed whether, in addition to the content of ESI, the rule also applies to its metadata—the properties and other information about electronic files. In Taylor Made Express v. Kidd, the court determined that, where spoli­ated metadata would have provided details relevant to a party’s claims, it does. Deputy Chair and Counsel, E-discovery, Ross Gotler assisted in the preparation of this article.

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