As has been widely publicized, on May 16 a Florida state court jury awarded $604.3 million in compensatory damages and later an additional $850 million in punitive damages to Coleman Holdings Inc., the camping-gear maker formerly owned by billionaire investor Ronald Perelman, in Coleman's fraud suit against powerhouse investment banker Morgan Stanley & Co.
The Dangers Of Electronic Discovery
The <i>Morgan Stanley</i> case is the most recent example of the perils that corporate defendants face in the era of e-discovery. Electronic evidence, and especially e-mail, now plays a starring role in litigation and investigations involving large corporations, particularly in areas such as employment discrimination, fraud and corporate mismanagement. Judges are increasingly familiar with electronic discovery, and are increasingly willing to impose heavy sanctions on corporations that do not comply with electronic discovery requests. As the Morgan Stanley case shows, the consequences of these sanctions can be dire. It is important, therefore, that companies take heed of the lessons of the Morgan Stanley case, and ensure that they have in place a comprehensive and effective system to recover and produce electronically stored documents.
By
John R. Bielema, Jr. and Michael P. CareyThis premium content is locked for LawJournalNewsletters subscribers only
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