Legal Commentary

U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm, of the district of Maryland, wasn't shy about his distaste for the defendant in a nasty piece of recent litigation, Victor Stanley, Inc. v. Creative Pipe et al. In his 89-page opinion, Grimm describes defendant Mark Pappas' data destruction and dissembling as "the single most egregious example of spoliation that I have encountered in any case that I have handled, or in any case described, in the legion of spoliation cases I have read in nearly 14 years on the bench."

Craig Ball, in the October issue of Law Technology News, details the judge's careful manuevering in issuing a civil contempt sanction on Pappas. But Ball cautions readers not to dismiss the case's educational value due to the "over-the-top" behavior of the defendant. Grimm uses the ruling "as a bully pulpit to teach the law of spoliation and sanctions," complete with a 12-page appendix.

Happy news within the e-discovery community: on EDD Update, Ball chronicles Saturday's nuptials between Kenneth Withers, director of judicial education and content at The Sedona Conference, and Harry Henry Jr., presided over by Magistrate Judge John Facciola. Congratulations!