E-Discovery: Outside Law Firm and One Of Its Partners Stung By Fees And Expenses For Not Producing Native Formatted Database

California is making a second attempt to revise the Civil Discovery Act to address the unique issues surrouding e-discovery.  On March 3, 2009, Assembly Bill 5 passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee.  Assembly Bill 5 is almost identical to Assembly Bill 926 that was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 27, 2008.  The only new provision in Assembly Bill 5 is the inclusion of an urgency provision that would make the proposed law effective immediately upon signature by the Governor.  (See David M. Hickey and Veronica Harris, California Rules to Amend Inaccessible ESI (March 27, 2009) www.law.com.)