The Sedona Conference and its Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production are pleased to announce the reissuance of The Sedona Conference Commentary on Rule 34 and Rule 45 "Possession, Custody, or Control" (Commentary). The Commentary was originally published in 2016 and is being reissued with a new cover memorandum and a 2024 publication date following a substantive re-examination by a Working Group 1 Brainstorming Group that was formed in January 2023 and tasked with determining whether an update of the 2016 Commentary would be beneficial. The Brainstorming Group conducted detailed analysis of case law that has emerged since the 2016 publication that address possession, custody, or control, new statutes and data privacy laws that are now on the books, and the impact of newer technologies such as cloud computing and ephemeral messaging on the recommendations set forth. It concluded that the guidance and recommendations provided in the 2016 Commentary are still valid and did not warrant reconsideration. It recommended, and the WG1 Steering Committee approved, that the Commentary be reissued with a 2024 publication date, based on the belief that it remains a valued resource for the bench and the bar, and a new publication date will both reaffirm Sedona's endorsement of the guidance set forth and ensure that it is not considered out-of-date. The new cover memorandum was published for Member and Public Comment and is now part of the reissued Commentary, which is available for download from the Publications page on The Sedona Conference website.
The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production The mission of Working Group 1 is to develop principles, guidance and best practice recommendations for information governance, and electronic discovery in the context of litigation, dispute resolution and investigations. To become a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group Series (WGS) and WG1, please visit https://thesedonaconference.org/join. |