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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.Extract from article by Gabe Friedman
Plantronics, a California company that manufactures telephone headsets, may soon be barred from doing business with the federal government — less than one year after a judge imposed $3 million in “punitive” sanctions on the company for discovery violations.
Earlier this week, the U.S. General Services Administration, which helps manages federal government agencies, proposed “debarment” for Plantronics and its senior vice president of sales Don Houston — the figure at the center of its discovery debacle in Delaware federal court — citing “a lack of business honesty,” which is one of several possible causes.
Ignatius Grande, a Hughes Hubbard & Reed attorney in New York who specializes in e-discovery, called the Plantronics’ case one of the “most significant” discovery sanctions’ cases in recent years, and said he had never heard of a company facing GSA debarment as a collateral consequence.
“It definitely would be a wake up call for some companies … you could lose all your government work if you don’t handle your e-discovery properly,” said Grande.