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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.By Nicolas Ranjan and David Kelch
Many oil and gas disputes are litigated in federal court. In recent years, federal litigation has undergone significant changes in discovery practices and rules. For example, with the increase in electronically stored information, like emails and text messages, the federal and local rules have changed to ensure that such electronically stored information, or “ESI,” is preserved and disclosed. The problem that many companies face, however, is that the costs of preserving, collecting, reviewing, and producing ESI as part of federal litigation can be extraordinarily high. This is particularly acute in cases against oil and gas companies that involve historical information, payment information, and large numbers of plaintiffs or claimants (e.g., payment, royalty, class actions, and mass contamination cases).