Film/Video Equipment Service, Inc. v. Janice Kay Baker, etc., Case No. 07CV11123: 11/18/08

This is a business damages case brought by a company against its former Vice President of Sales. This is a document-heavy case, based upon emails and other documents. Despite the Court’s urging in Pretrial Conferences, there was no agreement by counsel to share the cost of the Technologist who is presenting exhibits during trial. Not surprisingly, one counsel asks in the heat of trial to utilize the Technologist’s services. There is an objection by opposing counsel because of his attempts to obtain agreement to share those costs. Not surprisingly, the court allows counsel to use those services, but advises that the court will allocate costs following litigation accordingly.

Moral? It is almost unthinkable that counsel will not want to use technology to present exhibits at a trial involving business claims. A failure (even if based upon direction by the client as a cost-saving tool) impacts counsel’s credibility with the court, unnecessarily expands the time required for trial and forces the court to make rulings during trial on extraneous issues. Either have a back-up plan to efficiently present exhibits without technology, or agree to allocate costs according to the amount of time you take. Don’t burn your personal credibility with the court for lack of a plan on this issue.