Green v. American Modern Home Insurance Company

Filing 30

ORDER granting #27 Joint Motion for Agreed Order Establishing Protocol for Production of Electronically Stored Information. See Order for specifics. Signed by Honorable Susan O. Hickey on November 24, 2014. (mll)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
TEXARKANA DIVISION
PAMELA GREEN

PLAINTIFF

v.

Case No. 1:14-cv-04074

AMERICAN MODERN HOME
INSURANCE COMPANY

DEFENDANT

ORDER
Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion for Entry of Agreed Order Establishing Protocol
for Production of Electronically Stored Information. (ECF No. 27). The parties, through counsel,
have agreed to the form and entry of this Order (“ESI Order”) establishing a protocol for the
production of Electronically Stored Information (“ESI”) in this matter. The Court finds that the
parties’ Motion should be GRANTED. The Agreed Order Establishing Protocol reads as Follows:
I. SCOPE
A. The procedures and protocols outlined herein govern the search for, review and production
of ESI (as defined below) by a party during the pendency of this litigation.
B. As used in this order, the terms “ESI” or “Electronically Stored Information” means
discoverable documents and data existing in electronic form including e-mail, word processing
documents, spreadsheets, electronic slide presentations, databases, and other reasonably accessible
electronically stored information relevant to the claims or defenses of any party subject to discovery
pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. 2
II. IDENTIFICATION OF RESPONSIVE ESI
A. Documents and ESI which are neither privileged nor otherwise protected shall be timely
reviewed and produced in accordance with this ESI Order. After receiving requests for production

of documents, the party making the production (the “Producing Party”) shall conduct a reasonable
and good faith search for responsive ESI.
B. Absent a further order of the Court, a Producing Party shall not have an obligation to
search or produce from sources of ESI that it in good faith identifies as not reasonably accessible
because of undue burden or cost in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(B).
C. Search Terms. The parties shall meet and confer and reach agreement as to the method
of searching, and the words, terms, and phrases to be used to locate and identify potentially
responsive ESI. The parties shall also agree on the timing and conditions of any additional searches
that may become necessary in the normal course of discovery.
D. Custodians and Electronic Systems. The parties shall meet and confer to identify the
custodians whose email and other ESI will be searched, and any other electronic systems that will
be searched, using the agreed search terms from Section II.C. The parties shall also discuss
prioritizing or tiering custodians, with the first priority custodians searched and reviewed first, and
any further custodians searched only if the party requesting the discovery (“Requesting Party”)
identifies why searches of additional custodians are necessary and would not be largely duplicative.
E. Technology Assisted Review in Lieu of Search Terms. In lieu of identifying responsive
ESI using the search terms and custodians/electronic systems as described in Sections II.C & II.D
above, a party may use a technology assisted review platform to identify potentially relevant
documents and ESI. 3
F. Date Range. The parties shall meet and confer and reach agreement on an appropriate date
range for searching potentially responsive ESI.
G. System Files. Common system and program files as defined by the NIST library (which
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is commonly used by discovery vendors to exclude system and program files from document review
and production) need not be processed, reviewed or produced. The parties shall meet and confer on
any additional file types that also need not be processed, reviewed, or produced.
III. PRODUCTION OF ESI
A. General Document Production Format. The following provisions shall generally govern
the production format and procedure for ESI other than databases or spreadsheets.
1. Format. All ESI, other than databases or spreadsheets, shall be produced in a
single- or multi-page 300 dpi TIFF image with a Concordance DAT file with standard delimiters and
OPT file for image loading. The documents shall also be processed through Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) Software with OCR text files provided along with the production. Extracted
Text shall be provided for all documents unless it cannot be obtained. To the extent a document is
redacted, OCR text files for such document shall not contain text for the redacted portions of the
document. Each TIFF image will be assigned a Bates number that: (1) is unique across the entire
document production; (2) maintains a constant length across the entire production padded to the
same number of characters; (3) contains no special characters or embedded spaces; and (4) is
sequential within a given document. If a Bates number or set of Bates numbers is skipped in a
production, the Producing Party will so note in a cover letter or production log accompanying the
production. Each TIFF image file shall be named with the Bates Number corresponding to the
number assigned to the document page contained in that image. In the event a party determines that
it is unable to produce in the format specified in this section without incurring unreasonable expense,
the parties shall meet and confer to agree upon an alternative format for production.
2. Metadata. To the extent that any of the following metadata fields associated with
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all applicable documents are available, the Producing Party will produce those metadata fields to the
Requesting Party: file name, file size, author, application date created, file system date created,
application date last modified, file system date last modified, date last saved, original file path,
subject line, date sent, time sent, sender/author, recipient(s), copyee(s), and blind copyee(s). For
emails with attachments, the Producing Party will indicate when a parent-child relationship between
the message and the attachment exists. A Producing Party shall also produce a load file with each
production with the following fields: Starting Bates; Ending Bates; Begin Attach; End Attach; and
Source (custodian/location from which document was collected). If any metadata described in this
section does not exist, is not reasonably accessible, is not reasonably available, or would be unduly
burdensome to collect or provide, nothing in this ESI Order shall require any party to extract,
capture, collect or produce such metadata.
3. Appearance. Each document’s electronic image shall convey the same information
and image as the original document except for redactions for any privilege or for the confidential or
identifying information of an insured other than the named Plaintiff in this case. Documents shall
appear with any revisions and/or comments visible and printed. Documents that present imaging or
formatting problems shall be promptly identified and the parties shall meet and confer in an attempt
to resolve the problems.
4. Unitization. If a document is more than one page, the unitization of the document
and any attachments and/or affixed notes shall be maintained as it existed in the original file of the
Producing Party or shall be documented in a load file or otherwise electronically tracked.
5. Color. Documents containing color need not be produced in color in the first
instance. However, if good cause exists, the Requesting Party may request production of such
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documents in color by providing (1) a list of the Bates numbers of documents requested to be
produced in color format; and (2) an explanation of the need for production in color format. The
Producing Party shall not unreasonably deny such requests if the Requesting Party has demonstrated
good cause, but need not make such production until the parties reach agreement regarding
apportionment of any additional costs associated with the production of documents in color.
6. Exception Files. Files that cannot be produced or imaged due to technical
difficulties shall be identified as exception files and identified on a log listing the file’s name,
custodian, and reason for the exception. Common exception files include, without limitation,
corruption, password protection, digital rights management, or proprietary software associated to the
file.
B. Production Format For Information From Databases and Spreadsheets. The following
provisions shall generally govern the production format and procedure for databases and
spreadsheets:
1. Spreadsheets. Absent special circumstances, Excel files, .csv files and other similar
spreadsheet files will be produced in native format (“Native Files”). Native Files will be provided
in a self-identified “Natives” directory. Each Native File will be produced with 6a corresponding
single-page TIFF placeholder image, which will contain language indicating that the document is
being produced as a Native File. Native Files will be named with the beginning Bates number that
is assigned to that specific record in the production. A “NativeLink” entry for each spreadsheet will
be included in the .DAT load file indicating the relative file path to each native file on the Production
Media. Native Files will be produced with extracted text and applicable metadata fields if possible
and consistent with Section III.A.2 above. For documents that contain redacted text, the parties may
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either apply the redactions directly on the native file itself or produce TIFF image files with
burned-in redactions in lieu of a Native File and TIFF placeholder image. Each Producing Party will
make reasonable efforts to ensure that Native Files, prior to conversion to TIFF, reveal hidden data
from redacted Native Files that are produced as TIFF image files and will be formatted so as to be
readable. (For example, column widths should be formatted so that numbers do not appear as
“#########”.) Under these circumstances, all single-page TIFF images shall include row and
column headings.
2. Databases. If responding to a discovery request requires production of ESI
contained in a database, the Producing Party at its option may provide the database as a Native File
pursuant to Section III.B.1 above, or may comply with the discovery request by querying the
database for discoverable information and generating a report in a reasonably usable and exportable
electronic format (for example, in Excel or .csv format). The first line of each such file will, to the
extent possible, show the column headers for each field of data included. The parties shall meet and
confer as needed to finalize the appropriate data extraction and production format for specific
information contained in particular databases.
3. Requests for Other Native Files. Other than as specifically set forth above, a
Producing Party need not produce documents in native format. If good cause exists for the requesting
party to request production of certain ESI in native format, the Requesting Party may request
production in native format by providing (1) a list of the Bates numbers of documents it requests to
be produced in native format; and (2) an explanation of the need for reviewing such documents in
native format. The Producing Party shall not unreasonably deny such requests if the Requesting Party
has demonstrated good cause for receiving the ESI in native format. Each file produced in response
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to such requests will be produced to the extent possible consistent with Section III.B.1 above.
C. Production Media. The Producing Party shall produce documents on CD-ROM, DVD,
external hard drive (with standard PC compatible interface), or such other readily accessible
computer or electronic media as the parties may hereafter agree upon (the “Production Media”). Each
piece of Production Media shall be labeled with (1) the party making the production, (2) the date of
the production, (3) text referencing that it was produced in Green v. American Modern Home Ins.
Co., W.D. Ark. No. 4:14-cv-4074; (4) the Bates Number range of the materials contained on the
Production Media; and (5) any confidentiality designation(s) consistent with the terms of the
Protective Order entered in this matter. To maximize the security of information in transit, any
Production Media may be encrypted by the Producing Party. In such cases, the Producing Party shall
transmit the encryption key or password to the Requesting Party, under separate cover,
contemporaneously with sending the encrypted media.
D. Duplicate Production Not Required. ESI files need only be produced once. The Producing
Party will apply global deduplication to responsive ESI based on MD5 Hash values or an equivalent
deduplication key. Email will be deduplicated by family, not on an individual basis. Additionally,
to the extent reasonably accessible, all custodians of removed duplicates will be listed in an “All
Custodians” field and identified by full name of the individual or departmental custodian.
Stand-alone documents may be deduplicated against email attachments provided that the email
attachment is the duplicate that is produced and the custodian(s) of the removed duplicate(s) are
entered into the All Custodian field. All natives, even deduplicated versions, will be retained in a
format readily accessible to be produced upon request.
E. Privilege Logs. A party withholding documents based on one or more claims of privilege
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will produce a privilege log. There will be no obligation to produce privilege logs identifying
attorney-client communications concerning case strategy or the course of litigation that occur
following the commencement of this lawsuit, including the efforts to locate and collect documents
and ESI in response to a discovery request in this matter.
IV. RULE 502(D) CLAWBACK AGREEMENT
A. No Waiver of Disclosure. Section IV is agreed to pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d). Any
Producing Party that discloses or produces a document or information that it thereafter claims to be
privileged or otherwise protected from discovery (“Protected Information”), in whole or in part, shall
not be deemed to have waived any applicable privilege or protection by reason of such disclosure
or production in this or any other action.
B. Notification Requirements. A Producing Party must promptly notify all parties receiving
the Protected Information (“Receiving Party”) in writing that it has disclosed the Protected
Information without intending to waive the privilege or protection. Upon receipt of such notification,
each Receiving Party must within seven days (1) return the Protected Information, including all
copies, to the Producing Party, or (2) notify the Producing Party in writing that it has destroyed the
Protected Information including all copies. Each Receiving Party must also cease any use and
dissemination of the Protected Information until further order of the Court ruling that such
information is not privileged or otherwise protected. Moreover, any party that receives any document
or information during the course of discovery in this action that it knows or reasonably should know
is likely to be subject to a claim of privilege or other protection from discovery shall so inform the
Producing Party and all other parties in writing within seven days of becoming aware of the
potentially privileged document or information.
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C. Contesting Claim of Privilege of Work Product. If a Receiving Party contests the claim
of privilege or other protection made under Section IV.B above, the Receiving Party must within 7
days of receipt of the notice move the Court for an Order compelling disclosure. Any Protected
Information disclosed or filed with the motion shall be filed under seal with the Court. Pending a
resolution of the motion, the Receiving Party shall not use or otherwise disseminate the Protected
Information. The burden of proof for any such motion remains with the party asserting that the
Protected Information is privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure.
D. Stipulated Time Periods. The parties may stipulate to extend the time periods set forth in
Sections IV.B and IV.C above.
E. Effect. The provisions in Section IV of this ESI Order are intended to protect all parties
to this action, to the fullest extent permissible by law, against any unintended waiver of the
attorney-client privilege and/or the attorney work product doctrine that might otherwise arise from
the inadvertent disclosure of privileged or protected documents or information. These provisions are
intended to override any contrary law or presumptions, if and as applicable and permissible. The
parties’ execution of this ESI Order, and compliance with its terms, shall be understood, for all
purposes within and outside this action, to constitute reasonable and prompt efforts to preserve
privileges and protections from discovery in respect to any inadvertently disclosed document or
information.
V. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
A. If the forms of production allowed by this protocol present an undue burden or cost for
a Producing Party, the parties shall meet and confer to agree on a reasonable, alternative form of
production. Any party may file a motion with the Court to seek individual relief from this ESI Order.
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B. Each party will presumptively bear its own costs of production. However, the parties
reserve the right to seek cost shifting as appropriate at a later time.
C. Nothing in this ESI Order shall be construed to affect the discoverability or admissibility
of any document or data. All objections to the discoverability or admissibility of any document or
data are preserved and may be asserted at the appropriate time.
D. The parties may agree to modify or waive the terms of this ESI Order in writing signed
by counsel for the affected parties.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this 24th day of November, 2014.

/s/ Susan O. Hickey
Susan O. Hickey
United States District Judge

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