T&S Brass and Bronze Works Inc et al v. Slanina et al

Filing 143

ORDER granting as modified 118 Motion for Entry of Protocol for Searches of Electronic Devices. Signed by Honorable Mary Geiger Lewis on 2/15/2017.(abuc) Modified to edit text on 2/15/2017 (abuc).

In the United States District Court
District of South Carolina
Greenville Division
)
T&S Brass and Bronze Works, Inc. and )
EnviroPure Systems, LLC,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
v.
)
)
James Slanina, Linda Basinger,
)
Advantago, Inc. d/b/a Advantagreen,
)
and Opus Distribution, Inc.
)
)
Defendants.
)

C.A. No. 6:16-cv-03687-MGL

Order Granting As Modified Plaintiffs’
Motion for Entry of Protocol for
Searches of Electronic Devices

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following protocol will govern the examination
of devices containing electronic files agreed to or ordered to be produced in this action
(“Device(s)”) on or after the date of this Order, as well as the handling of information
derived from the same:
1.

The party seeking discovery that necessitates a forensic search or analysis of
computer devices (“Requesting Party”) will designate a computer forensic
contractor (“Consultant”).

All searches and reports produced will be conducted

and produced by a licensed private investigator pursuant to S.C. Code § 40-1820 et seq.
2.

Counsel for the party producing the Devices (“Producing Party”) will meet with
the Consultant at the office of counsel for the Producing Party or other mutually
agreed upon location and will deliver responsive Devices to the Consultant. The
Producing Party also will provide the Consultant with any passwords/passcodes
or other keys necessary to access all data on each Device produced.
1

The

Consultant will not disclose the password/passcode or keys to the Requesting
Party.
3.

The Consultant will create mirror images of the Devices and may conduct
forensic examinations of such images of the Devices in accordance with the
terms and conditions of this Order. (See ¶ 15).

4.

Any Consultant and/or representative of an Approved Consultant who is involved
in this litigation in any way, including but not limited to the imaging, examination,
compilation, use or disclosure of data from any Devices, is bound by the terms of
this Order, and counsel for Requesting Party shall provide a copy of this Order to
each Consultant so involved.

5.

The Consultant may create forensic mirror images of any of the Devices
(hereinafter the “Forensic Image”) in a format that can be searched by
Consultant.

Whenever a Forensic Image is created, the Consultant shall

simultaneously create an exact duplicate “read only” mirror image (hereinafter
the “Read Only Image”) in a format that preserves and secures the original
images from the Devices. The Read Only Image shall only be used for creating
additional Forensic Images, if necessary. (The Forensic Images and Read Only
Images are collectively referred to hereafter as the “Images”.)
6.

The creation of the Images will occur either at the office of counsel for the
Producing Party or at another mutually-agreeable location.

7.

After Images are created and processed, Consultant shall return the Devices to
the office of the Producing Party’s Counsel.

2

8.

Requesting Party will submit to counsel for Producing Party a list of search terms
to be used in searching the Forensic Images. Counsel for Producing Party shall
have seven (7) calendar days from receipt of this list to raise any objections to
the term search list. The Consultant may proceed with searches using the terms
to which the Producing Party has not objected.

9.

At Requesting Party’s request and expense, the Consultant may conduct a
search of the Forensic Images to locate documents and/or files containing the
approved search terms. The results of this search will be the ‘‘Search Results.’’
The search of the Forensic Images may occur either at a lab or office at which
such work is regularly performed by Consultant in South Carolina.

10.

Depending on the volume of the Search Results, Producing Party’s Counsel may
review the Search Results in a hard copy list format, or electronically in a review
platform.

11.

Counsel for Producing Party will review the Search Results and within 14
calendar days of receiving the Search Results shall identify for Requesting
Party’s Counsel any files/documents for which (s)he raises an objection as to the
production of such information to Requesting Party.

In the event Producing

Party’s Counsel needs additional time to conduct this review, he may request a
reasonable extension of this time period to complete his review, which shall not
be unreasonably denied. Any files to which Producing Party does not assert an
objection within the review period will then be provided to Requesting Party’s
Counsel by the Consultant.

3

12.

Requesting Party must respond to any objection within 7 calendar days, but shall
not be provided copies of the data/file itself the objection is resolved.

13.

Within seven (7) calendar days of receiving Requesting Party’s responses, if
Producing Party maintains the objection, the parties shall hold a telephone
conference to attempt to resolve the objection. If the objection is resolved or is
not presented to the Court within seven (7) calendar days of the telephone
conference, the file may be made available to the Requesting Party.

14.

All Search Results that are not withheld by Order of the Court will be produced to
each of the parties. These documents will be presumed Confidential under the
terms of the Consent Confidentiality Agreement for Thirty (30) days. This
presumption is waived as to a specific document unless the party seeking to
preserve the designation of such document as Confidential notifies the opposing
party of the designation within the Thirty (30) day period. This does not affect
any term of the Court’s Consent Confidentiality Order.

15.

At Requesting Party’s request and expense, Consultant also may conduct an
examination of the Forensic Images to determine data relative to Producing
Party’s Devices, including, but not limited to, reporting on alteration/deletion of
files or determining when, for example, a particular peripheral (e.g. flash drive,
external hard drive) was plugged in to the particular machine. The results of this
examination will be the ‘‘Forensic Analysis’’ and will be Requesting Party’s work
product and shall be subject to discovery only as set forth in the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure. However, any report generated by the Forensic Analysis that
Requesting Party intends to use as an exhibit at any hearing, deposition or trial of
4

this matter must be timely disclosed to Producing Party prior to such use. If
Consultant is subsequently designated as an expert for purposes of offering any
testimony in this case, then Consultant’s report(s) shall be timely disclosed as
required by the Rules. If the Forensic Analysis shows that a particular file is
related to the subject matter of this action and that file is not included in the
Search Results, the same procedures described in paragraphs 9 through 14 will
apply to these files. The forensic examination may occur either at a lab or office
at which such work is regularly performed by Consultant in South Carolina.
16.

Requesting Party may request additional searches of the Forensic Images. Any
additional searches of the Forensic Images shall be conducted as set forth
above, and any objection to additional searches shall be addressed in
accordance with the above provisions.

17.

Rule 26(b)(5)(B) applies to any electronic files produced pursuant to this
Protocol. Nothing in this Protocol should be read to otherwise limit a Requesting
Party’s ability to request production of documents or things, or a Producing
Party’s duty to produce documents or things in its possession, custody, or
control, under Rule 34, Fed. R. Civ. P.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Mary Geiger Lewis
Mary Geiger Lewis
United States District Judge
February 15, 2017
Columbia, South Carolina

5