photograph by Brian Cohen
e-discovery
forensic investigations
expert technical services
bit-x-bit is a computer forensic and e-discovery consulting firm providing expert technical services to the Pittsburgh region’s many notable law firms and companies.
PUBLICATIONS
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May 13, 2012
Delaware District Court Applies Third Circuit’s Race Tires America Decision, Disallows Amazon.com’s Claimed ESI Expenses of over $440,000 while N.D. Cal. Waits for Ninth Circuit Guidance
By Joseph Decker, Esq.After winning a defense verdict in a patent infringement case, which was affirmed on appeal, Amazon.com filed a Bill of Costs seeking to tax the losing plaintiff with e-discovery expenses related to electronically stored information (ESI) under 28 US.C. § 1920(4). Cordance Corporation v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 06-491-MPT. The Magistrate Judge had no difficulty in applying the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Race Tires America, Inc., v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp., 674 F.3d 158 (3d Cir. Mar. 16, 2012), and held that only $2,721 of the claimed $447,694 of expenses could be taxed as costs under Section 1920(4), disallowing Amazon’s claims for expenses for ESI processing, vendor storage fees and technical time, as well as disallowing more than $300,000 for unspecified electronic discovery services from Cataphora, an e-discovery analysis provider.
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March 27, 2012
In the Tribune Review:
Cloak and digital work helps online sleuthing venture grow
by Thomas OlsonBit-x-bit LLC is one of those companies conceived over the proverbial kitchen table -- specifically, a dining room table in Mt. Lebanon on Nov. 23, 2006.
Federal courts were weeks away from formalizing rules for demanding and producing electronic data in cases. Downtown attorney Joe Decker smelled an opportunity involving his wife, attorney Susan Ardisson, and her brother, computer expert Scott Ardisson, who was living on a sail boat in Portland, Maine.Read More -
March 26, 2012
In the Lawyers Journal:
Technology and the Fourth Amendment
by Tina O. Miller, Esq. and Susan Ardisson, Esq.Technology is expanding the way courts interpret the Fourth Amendment. In plain text, the Fourth Amendment insures “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects” and protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
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March 19, 2012
In Race Tires America, Third Circuit Provides “Definitive Guidance” on Taxation of ESI Costs under § 1920(4), Disallowing All ESI-Related Expenses, Except for Scanning and TIFFing Charges
Susan Ardisson, Esq.In a much anticipated decision, the Third Circuit in Race Tires America, Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp., __F.3d __(3d Cir. (Pa.) March 16, 2012 (No. 11-2316), held that most expenses associated with the collection, processing and production of electronically stored information (ESI) were not taxable as costs under 28 U.S.C. §1920(4) because they were not expenses incurred for “exemplification” or “copying.” In a 31-page opinion, which the Third Circuit characterized as providing “definitive guidance” on the taxation of ESI costs, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s taxation of more than $365,000 in ESI related expenses against the plaintiff which included costs for the creation of forensic images, data culling and key word searching, and held that only approximately $30,000 for scanning and TIFFing charges were the “making of copies” and taxable as costs under Section 1920(4).
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March 9, 2012
In the Lawyers Journal:
Finding Brady needles in an ESI evidentiary haystack
Tina O. Miller, Esq. & Susan Ardisson, Esq.That often used metaphor of finding the proverbial needle (a crucial electronic document) in a haystack (consisting of gigabytes if not terabytes of electronically stored information) is not limited to civil cases. It’s an equally appropriate metaphor for finding electronic evidence in criminal cases, but the rules are different. Surprisingly, there is little criminal case law or commentary addressing the impact of the problems associated with the ever growing volume of ESI which must be searched and reviewed both by the prosecution and the defense, or the impact on justice. This article will address some of these issues in the context of obtaining exculpatory Brady material and recent case law.
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NEWS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
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April 27, 2012
eDiscovery Symposium
Co-sponsored by PBI and the Allegheney County Bar Association
Judicial faculty include:
Honorable Joy Flowers Conti
Honorable Nora Barry Fischer
Honorable Maureen P. Kelly
Honorable Arthur J. Schwab
Honorable Christine A. Ward
Heinz 57 Center, 339 Sixth Ave., 7th Floor
To register, click the "read more" link below.
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March 26, 2012
Computer Forensics and e-Discovery in Patent Litigation
Scott Ardisson, CCEUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Law
6:00pm -7:00pm
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January 25, 2012
bit-x-bit in-a-box™ in Legal Technology News
Tom O’Connor"Pricing: The Small Case E-Discovery Dilemma"
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January 10, 2012
Preserving Electronic Evidence
ISSA Monthly MeetingScott Ardisson, CCERegional Enterprise Tower425 Sixth Ave 23rd floorPittsburgh, PA11:00am - 12:00pm -
December 13, 2011
Strategic Use and Benefits of Forensic Experts In Trade Secret Litigation
Reed SmithJeffrey J. Bresch, Esq.Jayme L. Butcher, Esq.Susan Ardisson, Esq.Scott Ardisson, CCEPittsburgh, PA
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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End to End E-Discovery
bit-x-bit has it all! Click "Read more" to view our comprehensive e-discovery process.
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bit-x-bit in-a-box™
Our forensic collection kit is an easy way of taking control of the ESI preservation process.
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bit-x-bit data-x-press™
Our New ESI Data Processing “Express” Service, expressly designed to process ESI and return it, ready to review, in 48 hours...
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AFFILIATIONS
Exclusively Endorsed by the ACBA
The Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) endorses bit-x-bit as its provider of choice for computer forensic and electronic discovery litigation support services for ACBA members. The quality of service provided to members and the attractive pricing offered to our members make bit-x-bit a great partner for the ACBA.David Blaner Executive Director, ACBA
For more information and member benefits, please click here.
Thompson Reuters CaseLogistix Document Review
Certified Woman-Owned Business
A PCKIZ Company
A grant recipient in both 2008 and 2009, bit-x-bit received funding to support expansion and hiring at its offices located in the "Zone" in the historic Frick Building in downtown Pittsburgh.
Approved PA ITQ Supplier
bit-x-bit is a pre-qualified IT services vendor/supplier for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under its Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) program.
CASE STUDIES
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ESI Processing for Fortune 100 Company
The Challenge: Process and search 500 gigabytes of ESI collected by a Fortune 100 Company in response to a Government Subpoena and enable Counsel to meet the Government’s uncompromising deadlines for production.
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Failure to Disclose Marital Assets
The Challenge: Find electronic evidence to establish that the husband failed to disclose the existence of certain oil and gas rights which he sold for more $300,000, just days after executing the Marriage Property Settlement Agreement.
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Theft of Trade Secrets
The Challenge: Determine whether a former employee took confidential, trade secret information in violation of his written confidentiality and non-competition agreement, after he advised the company that he was leaving to move West, when in fact he took a similar sales position with a competitor.
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One TB of ESI in Class Action Against Commonwealth
The Challenge: Gather and search millions of electronic documents from over 100 custodians and five governmental agencies, query three databases, manage the technical aspects for the client’s document review team, and produce ESI and data in a class action, on time and under budget.
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Alibi in Murder Case
The Challenge: In a homicide case, forensically review electronic evidence contained on a criminal defendant’s consumer electronic devices, in police custody, to assist defense counsel to in finding evidence to support the defendant’s alibi.
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