GN Gets Half-Win on Deleted Emails in Plantronics Antitrust Case

Telephone headset maker GN Netcom Inc. won the chance July 10 to offer expert testimony that rival Plantronics Inc. deleted thousands of emails after GN sued it for alleged antitrust violations.

The lawsuit accuses Plantronics of running a “Plantronics-Only Distributor” program that gave participating resellers discounts and other benefits in exchange for their agreement to sell competitors’ headsets only under limited circumstances and to refrain from marketing them at all.

In response to the suit, Plantronics’ general counsel instituted a litigation hold on all relevant emails, according to the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. ...