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Texas Supreme Court Weekly Update May 26, 2017

On Behalf of | May 26, 2017 | Texas Supreme Court Weekly Update

This week the Texas Supreme Court issued 6 opinions and 0 grants. In one of these opinions the Court offered clarity on formatting disputes arising in the context of ESI discovery.

In In re State Farm Lloyds, the Court heard a request for mandamus relief arising from a discovery dispute over whether ESI produced in static images, as opposed to “native” or “near-native” format, was sufficient. The Court declined to impose a bright-line rule and instead held that the issue of appropriate formatting for the production of electronically stored information (ESI) is an issue to be resolved on a case-by-case basis. According to the Court, 7 factors must be considered:

1. The likely benefit of the requested discovery

2. The needs of the case

3. The amount in controversy

4. The resources of the parties

5. The importance of the issues at stake

6. The importance of the proposed discovery in the resolution of the case

7. Any other articulable factor bearing on proportionality

Ultimately, the Court denied mandamus relief “because the trial court and the parties lacked the benefit of our views on the matter, neither granting nor denying mandamus relief on the merits is appropriate.”

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