Proposed sanctions recommended by a San Diego federal magistrate regarding HM Electronics v. R.F. Technologies is being described as a “wake-up call” regarding the need for attorneys to become competent in e-discovery.

The sanctions were ordered against the defendants and their attorneys for alleged discovery misconduct and other alleged improprieties. It was alleged that the defendants “intentionally withheld and destroyed highly relevant electronically stored documents,” according to a 78-page order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell Dembin. He concludes that the “Defendants and certain of their attorneys engaged in sanctionable discovery practices in five ways.”

In response to the case, Philip Favro, Recommind's senior discovery counsel, told Legaltech News, “The lawyers did very little to address that behavior.”