In the Apple v. Samsung patent infringement case the jury won’t be hearing about deleted and missing emails which both parties failed to properly preserve according to a lengthy order issued today by Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.
When faced with possible sanctions for spoliation of eDiscovery both Apple and Samsung let the court know that neither party wanted an adverse jury instruction given. This means that the jury is not going to be informed about general failure by both Apple and Samsung to preserve emails relevant to the litigation. In her order, Koh describes that despite Samsung sending hold notices to approximately 2,841 employees “Samsung never audited its employees to gauge compliance with this policy”. Apple then sought a finding that Samsung spoliated evidence and had acted in bad faith by failing to preserve and was granted an Adverse Inference Order.
However, Samsung then filed its own Motion for Spoliation based on Judge Grewal’s finding that in 2010 Apple failed to properly issue its own internal litigation hold notices. This motion was ultimately denied last week.
Ultimately it seems that neither Apple nor Samsung really are interested in having potentially damaging emails between executives enter the public sphere despite the potential for damage to the litigation. They are both Fortune 500 companies and no doubt have internal compliance departments and eDiscovery consultants readily available. However it appears that both parties place more value on their respective trade secrets than complying with internal litigation holds. The case is soon headed to the jury after the closing arguments are completed.
The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California as reported by c|net
Read and download the order here:
