In Mirbeau of Geneva Lake LLC v. City of Lake Geneva, et. al., 2009 WL 3347101 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 15, 2009), U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller denied plaintiff's request to compel defendants to produce their computers and other electronic storage devices for forensic examination and further denied plaintiff's motion to sequester the defendant city's electronic storage systems.

Plaintiff alleges that the City and members of the City Council conspired to reject plaintiff's application for a zoning change permit.  In discovery, the city conceded that it did not have a plan in place to preserve electronic information and in response plaintiff sought a court order permitting its forensic expert to examine every computer in the City's care, custody and control.  The court rejected this request.  Nor did the court find it appropriate to sequester the City's computers.  Instead, the court ordered the parties to meet and confer and develop a meaningful discovery plan related to the City's electronic information.