Judge Scheindlin Rules That Government FOIA Productions Must Be "Searchable" And Include Metadata

In her latest opinion, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York addressed the issue of metadata in productions. In National Day Laborer Organizing Network v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency,¹ Judge Scheindlin identified metadata fields that she believes "should accompany any production of a significant collection of ESI." Given Judge Scheindlin's stature in the eDiscovery world, this opinion is likely to become a key point of reference in defining the scope of the obligation to include metadata in productions.

Specifically, in this case of first impression, Judge Scheindlin held that metadata must be included in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) productions,² holding that "metadata maintained by the agency as a part of an electronic record is presumptively producible under FOIA, unless the agency demonstrates that such metadata is not 'readily reproducible.'"