In Re Napster, Inc. Copyright Litigation

MARILYN HALL PATEL, District Judge.

The above-captioned actions arise from the litigation involving alleged copyright infringement by Napster, Inc. and its customers. Now before the court is plaintiffs UMG and EMI's ("plaintiffs") motion for terminating sanctions or, alternatively, for evidentiary sanctions, seeking sanctions against defendant Hummer Winblad ("Hummer") for alleged intentional spoliation of evidence. Having considered the parties' arguments and submissions, and for the reasons set forth below, the court enters the following memorandum and order.

BACKGROUND [1]

The instant motion relates to four actions now pending before this court as part of the In re Napster Copyright Litigation multidistrict litigation ("MDL") proceedings, Case No. C MDL-00-1369 MHP. The history of this litigation is well documented in this court's previous orders. The instant motion arises out of plaintiffs' allegation that Hummer knowingly and intentionally deleted an undetermined number of emails which they had a duty to preserve and to produce in response to plaintiffs' document requests. Hummer denies that they knowingly and intentionally deleted any emails which they had a duty to…