Opinion
20-cv-05146-LHK (SVK)
12-16-2021
PATRICK CALHOUN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. GOOGLE LLC, Defendant.
ORDER RE SEARCH OF ESI OF SUNDAR PICHAI AND FOR ADDITIONAL DATA PURSUANT TO DKT. 349.
Re: Dkt. Nos. 349, 410
SUSAN VAN KEULEN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
The Court has reviewed the Parties' joint discovery submissions at Dkt. 402 and 410 regarding an ESI search of custodian Sundar Pichai, as well as this Court's order at Dkt. 349 setting limits on ESI searches. The Court has also received and reviewed the supplemental information provided at Dkt. 414.
As previously ordered by this Court, any search of Pichai's ESI must be limited in time and scope due to his apex status. Dkt. 404. Accordingly, based upon the submissions before the Court, the ESI search for custodian Pichai shall be limited in temporal scope to the years 2018, 2019 and 2020. Search terms for Pichai shall be limited to the seven terms identified in Appendix A to Dkt. 410. No. later than 5 p.m. December 20, 2021, Google shall provide to Plaintiffs hit counts for each term.
This process brings to the forefront the question of where the search of Pichai ESI falls within the parameters set forth in Dkt. 349. While that order does not clearly articulate the interplay between search terms (section 6) and future custodians (section 7), as the history of discovery hearings before this Court reflects, Dkt. 349 was intended to set a cap on future ESI productions. To address this issue, by 12 p.m. December 21, 2021, the Parties are to file a joint statement that sets forth in a single table:
1. the number of unique documents identified thus far pursuant to Dkt. 349, section 6(a)(2) and the production status of those documents;
2. the number of unique documents identified thus far pursuant to Dkt. 349, section 6(b) and the production status of those documents;
3. the hit counts of unique documents for each custodian identified thus far pursuant to Dkt. 349, section 7, including Pichai, and whether those documents are included in or are in addition to the hit counts identified in (1) or (2) above.
4. In addition to the data identified above, each side may provide a one-page statement of position.
SO ORDERED.