D’Onofrio v. SFX Sports Group, Inc.

Brief Fact Summary.

D’Onofrio moved to compel SFX Sports Group, Inc. to produce a business plan in its original format with metadata after failing to do so initially.

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

A party is not required to provide electronically stored information in the original format with stored metadata when responding to a discovery request.

Facts.

D’Onofrio sued her employer, SFX Sports Group, Inc. (SFX) claiming gender discrimination and wrongful termination. D’Onofrio asked SFX to produce their business plan but they did not provide their business plan in its original format. D’Onofrio then moved to compel SFX Sports Group, Inc. to produce a business plan in its original format with metadata.

Issue.

Whether a party must provide electronically stored information in the original format with stored metadata when responding to a discovery request?

Held.

No. An order to compel is inappropriate because D’Onofrio did not initially request for SFX to provide the business plan in its original format with the metadata.

Discussion.

FRCP 34(b)(1)(C) allows a party to request electronic information to be produced in a specific form. However, D’Onofrio misinterpreted FRCP 34(b)(1)(C) to mean that the requested documents could only be produced in its original form.