In a case of first impression, the South Dakota Supreme Court, in a 3–2 decision, ruled that the state’s physician–patient privilege does not protect third-parties’ medical records from disclosure so long as the…

California’s USDC–ND ruled that Bio-Rad Laboratories’ former General Counsel may use privileged communications to prove his retaliatory-discharge case prosecuted under Sarbanes–Oxley and Dodd–Frank’s…

We see privilege issues discussed in judicial decisions, legal commentary, and mainstream news.  Here is a roundup of interesting privilege issues for December 2016. The Camarillo Acorn, a newspaper, filed a public-records…

You can tell a lot about files on a computer before you even open them. That’s the premise that makes data reduction possible prior to discovery review—in a stage commonly referred to as early data assessment. As summarized by…

Are you directing your eDiscovery collections with maximum efficiency? Data collection can be the most complex and technically rigorous of all eDiscovery phases. It involves the extraction of potentially relevant electronically…

Daniel D’Angelo After the review and production phases of discovery are complete, a lot of people must collaboratively work with produced evidence to prepare a strong case. Keeping them coordinated is often a challenge, particularly…

Tuesday.On point.Scapegoat.To be accused with lies.I will overcome.No matter their stupidity and desperation.Their methods of attempting to undermine me and what I have worked to build.A success.A succesful team.No matter, no matter, no…

Monday.On point.To make others a scapegoat is wrong.To blame others without evidence is wrong.To implicate something without proof is wrong.To infer that somebody has done something that they have not done is wrong.To suggest a person has…

Weekend.Motions all weekend long.To suppress, to dismiss, to continue.To compel, to discover, to vacate.Balance was not part of the bargain.It's trading through the mud on each and every file.With your boots on.Through the slush.Each step…

Plaintiff sues Defendant, an owner of a newspaper, for libel after releasing an article that accused Plaintiff of committing a string of robberies on New York City’s Upper East Side. To prove that Plaintiff committed those robberies,…

In our last blog, we saw some basic definitions of relevance. Relevant evidence is evidence that tends to prove or disprove a material fact in the case. For this problem, we revisit the relevance of “character” evidence. In…

Black’s Law Definition:“Relevant” evidence logically connects to — and tends to prove or disprove — a matter at issue. It has appreciable probative value. That is, it rationally tends to persuade of the…

This post is authored by Cathy Trent-Vilim, a partner in LDM’s litigation department.  This is Part II of her two part post. Welcome to Part II.  If you’ve found your way to Part II, chances are you’ve…

This post is authored by Cathy Trent-Vilim, a partner in LDM’s litigation department. Imagine stepping up to the plate, preparing to hit your first baseball of the season.  You’ve been looking forward to this moment for…

Last week I noted that I would be assisting with the AAJ Regional Trial Competition held in Omaha.  I served as a judge for what was, in my view, a very close round between two good teams.  Here are some … Continue reading…

A fall protection expert witness recently came to the rescue of a car hauler suing a truck manufacturer for negligence and helped him survive summary judgment. Although the expert did not have any formal education on fall protection, the…

In this patent infringement suit regarding the design of a particular inner garment (Branovations, Inc. v. Ontel Products Corp.) the Florida district court ruled that simplicity of technology may negate need for expert testimony, but does not…

An infectious disease expert witness was recently called on board in Hoff v. Steiner Transocean, Ltd. to testify about the source of infection on the Plaintiff’s feet, which, Plaintiff asserted, was caused by a pedicure he had on a…