Consumer Class Actions: 6.3.4 Specific Actions Relating to Preserving ESI
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure include requirements governing electronically stored information (ESI). ESI differs from paper information in many respects—for example, in volume, variety of sources and formats, dynamic quality, and hidden information (such as metadata and embedded data). ESI is dependent on the system that creates it. Deleting information from a computer usually does not erase it completely. These factors make both preservation and discovery of ESI more complicated than paper discovery.