Here is an interesting view from Ireland focusing on the security for costs in respect of eDiscovery.
Costs are always an interesting element of Discovery debates, and this case is no exception. The judge laid out a number of criteria to be considered in these circumstances – and although the case was in Irish jurisdiction, the points are worthy of consideration elsewhere when considering discovery related applications.
The quantum of costs is also an interesting point to focus on. As is often the case, the devil is in the detail, or more accurately the assumptions used in producing an estimate. Changes in the assumptions can often lead to radically different outcomes. As such, when looking at estimates like this it is important to delve deeper, understand how it was prepared and critique the assumptions used.
This is something we often help clients too, as it is a challenge that often comes up.
As discovery costs have disproportionately increased against the overall costs of litigation over time, parties have increasingly used the discovery process as a tactical tool to force settlement. This decision is a further welcome reminder that there are options available to litigants to resist overly expansive and expensive discovery requests.
https://www.mhc.ie/latest/insights/pay-per-view-security-for-costs-and-discovery
