Oklahoma Adds eDiscovery Rules on November 1st, 2010
Posted by Jeff Kurpaska on Fri, Oct 29, 2010 @ 08:35 PM
New e-discovery rules signed into law this past April,bring Oklahoma procedures into alignment with existing federal practices.
Earlier in 2010, the Oklahoma legislature amended the state's Civil Procedure Code to include electronically stored information as subject to discovery in state courts. Amendments to the new law exclude ESI that isn't reasonably accessible due to the undue burden or cost of retrieving information.
ESI sources may include electronic devices like laptops, desktops, printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, telephones and smartphones and mobile devices.
Legislatures across the country are increasing the scope of discovery reach along the lines of the previously adopted Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure that include such provisions as:
- Adding the term "electronically stored information" alongside the term "documents" concerning discovery and production requests.
- The requesting party specifies the form for producing ESI. It is required in only one format.
- If the information is not "reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost," the requesting party must show good cause for its production.
- If privileged information is inadvertently produced, the opposing party must "return, sequester, or destroy the specified information."
- The court may limit discovery if the burden outweighs the benefit, or if the discovery may be "obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive."
- The court may not impose sanctions for failure to produce ESI lost via the "routine, good faith operation of an electronic information system."
States with ESI provisions and rules in effect include the following:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona ,Arkansas, California,Connecticut ,Florida, Idaho,Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland , Michigan,Minnesota,Mississippi,Missouri,Montana,Nebraska,New Hampshire, New Jersey,New Mexico ,New York,North Carolina,North Dakota,Oklahoma,Ohio,Tennessee,Texas,Utah,Vermont,Virginia,Wyoming