In Flynn v. Kone, Inc., the District of Maryland denied a sanctions motion alleging failure to preserve text messages after granting summary judgment for the defendant. The decision highlights the practical impact of dispositive rulings on spoliation disputes while prompting discussion about whether courts retain inherent authority to sanction ESI spoliation following the 2015 amendments to Rule 37(e).
A recent decision examines whether identifying “texts” in a litigation hold waives privilege and what it takes to compel disclosure of hold notices.
In Hernandez v. DiBiaso (N.D. Ill. Mar. 9, 2026), the court held that selling a cell phone after litigation began violated preservation duties under Rule 37(e). Although the loss of ESI caused prejudice, the court declined severe sanctions, finding no intent to deprive.
A Maryland court imposed Rule 37(e)(1) sanctions against a plaintiff for failing to preserve key Facebook and text message communications, providing the jury with a special instruction on the spoliation.
In Wenzler v. U.S. Coast Guard, the court denied a sanctions motion related to the deletion of text messages on two government phones, ruling that no relevant evidence was lost. The decision also upheld Wenzler’s disenrollment for inappropriate social media posts misrepresenting his position and making disparaging remarks.
This update explores key e-discovery rulings from August 2024, including decisions on data security costs, cloned document discovery, employee text messages, and the limits of keyword searches.