## Facts

- Shirley Williams and other opt-in plaintiffs brought an ADEA collective action alleging age discrimination in Sprint’s reduction-in-force terminations.
- In merits discovery, Sprint possessed Microsoft Excel spreadsheets containing RIF-related employee data maintained in native Excel format.
- The court previously ordered Sprint to produce the spreadsheets electronically in the format used in the ordinary course of business and in the manner maintained.
- Sprint produced the spreadsheets after removing embedded metadata and locking certain cells, without an agreement with plaintiffs or court approval.
- Plaintiffs moved to compel production with metadata intact and requested sanctions for the altered production.
- The court issued a show-cause order requiring Sprint to explain why it should not be required to re-produce the spreadsheets as maintained and why sanctions should not be imposed.

## Issues

1. When a party is required to produce electronic spreadsheets as kept in the ordinary course of business or as maintained, must the production include metadata absent a timely objection, protective order, or agreement excluding metadata?
2. Whether Sprint should be sanctioned for scrubbing metadata and locking spreadsheet cells before production without opposing counsel’s consent or court authorization.

## Decision

- The court ordered Sprint to re-produce the Excel spreadsheets in native format with metadata intact.
- The court found Sprint’s unilateral alteration of the files inconsistent with production “as maintained” in the ordinary course of business.
- The court declined to impose sanctions, citing the unsettled state of metadata law at the time and ambiguity in prior orders and communications regarding metadata.

## Legal Principles

- When ESI is ordered produced “as kept in the ordinary course of business” or “in the manner maintained,” the required form of production generally includes associated metadata for native electronic files.
- Metadata may be discoverable where it can bear on document history, authorship, modification, calculations, or other matters relevant to claims or defenses.
- A producing party that seeks to withhold metadata must raise the issue through a timely, specific objection, seek a protective order, or secure an agreement; it may not silently remove metadata or otherwise alter ESI before production.
- Sanctions for altered ESI production depend on the clarity of governing obligations and court directives, and may be denied where the applicable standards and prior orders were unclear.

## Conclusion

The court required native re-production of Excel spreadsheets with metadata because production “as maintained” includes metadata absent a contrary agreement or order, but it denied sanctions due to ambiguity in both the then-developing law of metadata discovery and the case’s prior discovery directives.


Williams v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 230 F.R.D. 640 (D. Kan. 2005)