Case Citation
Legal Case Name

In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation Case Brief

District Court, M.D. Florida2007Docket #66031334
244 F.R.D. 650 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61287 2007 WL 2412946 Civil Procedure Complex Litigation Evidence

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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis

General Brief
4 min read

tl;dr: In a complex drug liability MDL, the court sanctioned defendant AstraZeneca for its “purposefully sluggish” and uncooperative approach to e-discovery. The court found AZ’s production of millions of documents in an unusable format violated its discovery obligations, warranting sanctions under FRCP 37.

Legal Significance: The case underscores a party’s affirmative duty in complex litigation to produce electronically stored information (ESI) in a usable format. It affirms that “purposeful sluggishness” and failure to cooperate in resolving technical issues constitute sanctionable conduct under FRCP 37, even without a formal compulsion order.

In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation Law School Study Guide

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Case Facts & Court Holding

Key Facts & Case Background

In a multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving the drug Seroquel, Plaintiffs moved for discovery sanctions against Defendant AstraZeneca (AZ). The court had entered a Case Management Order (CMO 2) establishing a protocol for the production of electronically stored information (ESI), including data from 80 employee “custodians.” Plaintiffs alleged that AZ failed to comply with its discovery obligations in several ways. Most significantly, AZ produced millions of pages from its custodians in a delayed, incomplete, and unusable format. The production lacked proper metadata, page breaks, and searchable load files, rendering the documents practically inaccessible. AZ had used a unilateral, undisclosed keyword search to filter the documents, which Plaintiffs argued was unreasonably narrow. Furthermore, AZ failed to cooperate in resolving technical issues, refusing to allow Plaintiffs’ technical experts to confer directly with AZ’s vendors. AZ also failed to cooperate in identifying and providing information about its relevant databases as required by the CMO. Although Plaintiffs had previously filed a motion to compel, they withdrew it based on AZ’s representations that it would cure the deficiencies. When AZ failed to do so, Plaintiffs filed the instant motion for sanctions.

Court Holding & Legal Precedent

Issue: Does a party’s failure to produce electronically stored information in a timely, usable, and searchable format, coupled with a lack of cooperation in resolving technical issues, constitute sanctionable conduct under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 in complex litigation?

Yes. The court granted in part the motion for sanctions, finding that Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim a

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IRAC Legal Analysis

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Legal Issue

Does a party’s failure to produce electronically stored information in a timely, usable, and searchable format, coupled with a lack of cooperation in resolving technical issues, constitute sanctionable conduct under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 in complex litigation?

Conclusion

This case serves as a significant warning to litigants that courts will Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum

Legal Rule

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2), a court may sanction a Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,

Legal Analysis

The court's analysis focused on the standards for electronic discovery in complex Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure do

Flash-to-Full Case Opinions

Flash Summary

  • A court sanctioned AstraZeneca (AZ) for e-discovery abuses in the Seroquel
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non

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