Judge Sanctions Alston & Bird Clients for Discovery Misconduct
A federal magistrate has sanctioned three clients of Alston & Bird for discovery misconduct in a software infringement suit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth LaPorte of San Francisco said the defendants destroyed evidence and claimed they didn’t have key documents and source code until sanctions were threatened, the Recorder reports.
The defendants are thehomestore.com, the National Association of Home Builders of the United States, and the National Association of Realtors. The suit by plaintiff Kevin Keithley claims the defendants infringed his patent for displaying real estate information online.
LaPorte ordered the defendants to pay $250,000 in sanctions and said they could be on the hook for more money, depending on an analysis of the evidence that was turned over. Her order (PDF posted by the Recorder) called the misconduct “among the most egregious this court has ever seen.”
