Have you ever given any thought to the dollar value of trust? How much money does distrust cost?
Distrust is extremely expensive and the parties and lawyers in St. Jude v. Grubiak will be measuring it. Minnesota Litigator has covered St. Jude v. Grubiak previously.
St. Jude distrusts Grubiak. So, rather than asking for and receiving documents information from Grubiak, St. Jude insists on undertaking a forensic exam of Grubiak’s stored electronic data (that is, his computer, his lap top, his hard drive, his phone).
Grubiak distrusts St. Jude. So, rather than just turning over all of the data on this computers and phone, Grubiak insists that St. Jude narrow its search.
Here is Grubiak’s proposed protocol.
Here is Grubiak’s argument for why St. Jude’s motion to compel against Grubiak was unnecessary and illegit.
Finally, on this point of the very high cost of distrust in civil litigation, this is why civil litigants are wise to vet their lawyers and their lawyers’ reputations as best they can. Because a lawyer who is trusted by his adversaries will save his or her clients a lot of money and even more if the lawyers on both sides enjoy a cooperative and trusting rapport.