Apple v. Samsung Electronics: The Perils Of Email Auto Deletion

Introduction

Apple recently received an e-discovery victory in their global patent battle with Samsung Electronics. On July 24, 2012, Federal Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewel of the Northern District of California sanctioned Samsung for its failure to preserve emails after it should have reasonably anticipated Apple's lawsuit. The ruling—which will allow the jury to draw an adverse inference against Samsung—could prove to be a game changer in a litigation where billions of dollars are at stake.

The ruling reaffirms the need for corporate entities to be vigilant in their document-preservation activities, even before litigation commences. The ruling also tackles the issue of email auto-deletion and serves as a warning to potential litigants who have auto-deletion policies.