3 ms·

IANAL but documents don't become public during discovery, they only become public if they're filed with the court (unless they're sealed). The vast majority of

IANAL but documents don't become public during discovery, they only become public if they're filed with the court (unless they're sealed). The vast majority of information dredged up during discovery remains confidential.

vlovich123 2y ago
But things like datasets are massive and structure is important. Do they retain them digitally with the same original structure or do they transform them into some kind of massive PDF?
- williamcotton 2y ago
  If the experts are playing hardball then transformations of any and everything into PDFs is an effective tactic.
  - singleshot_ 2y ago
    No. See the various state rules of civil procedure concerning the presumptive and requested form of production of electronically stored information. An example is Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.1(c)(3).
    - williamcotton 2y ago
      I've seen plenty of productions of source code, email tranches, and database dumps in PDF format in both state and federal suits this year alone. I've never worked with the courts in Arizona so perhaps this kind of gamesmanship is not allowed.
  - nomel 2y ago
    Related, I worked at a company that had a standards body forced information sharing agreement with a competitor. One of the requirements was that documentation had to be shared. Unfortunately, our documentation was a very well formatted with links and was searchable, making it easy to navigate. So in an act of malicious compliance, the few thousand page document was printed then scanned to low res, jpg artifact filled, crooked, but still legible, set of images that were shared as a fairly useless pdf.
    - gamblor956 2y ago
      There was a time that would have worked because most judges didn't even know how to turn on their computers, much less the difference in file types. Now, do the same thing and the judge would fine the company, and its lawyers, for failing to comply with discovery. And if the judge is super pissed off, they may issue a warrant for the CEO to spend a few nights in jail thinking about his decision-making process.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]

vlovich123 2y ago

But things like datasets are massive and structure is important. Do they retain them digitally with the same original structure or do they transform them into some kind of massive PDF?

williamcotton 2y ago
If the experts are playing hardball then transformations of any and everything into PDFs is an effective tactic.
- singleshot_ 2y ago
  No. See the various state rules of civil procedure concerning the presumptive and requested form of production of electronically stored information. An example is Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.1(c)(3).
  - williamcotton 2y ago
    I've seen plenty of productions of source code, email tranches, and database dumps in PDF format in both state and federal suits this year alone. I've never worked with the courts in Arizona so perhaps this kind of gamesmanship is not allowed.
- nomel 2y ago
  Related, I worked at a company that had a standards body forced information sharing agreement with a competitor. One of the requirements was that documentation had to be shared. Unfortunately, our documentation was a very well formatted with links and was searchable, making it easy to navigate. So in an act of malicious compliance, the few thousand page document was printed then scanned to low res, jpg artifact filled, crooked, but still legible, set of images that were shared as a fairly useless pdf.
  - gamblor956 2y ago
    There was a time that would have worked because most judges didn't even know how to turn on their computers, much less the difference in file types. Now, do the same thing and the judge would fine the company, and its lawyers, for failing to comply with discovery. And if the judge is super pissed off, they may issue a warrant for the CEO to spend a few nights in jail thinking about his decision-making process.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]