"You should note you're quoting the DOJ's argument, not a finding of fact."
Why? The facts quoted in the parent comment, namely that Google destroyed _potential_ evidence, are not in dispute. Google has never denied that it destroyed chats after anticipating litigation in 2019. Because, surprise, that's what it did. In violation of the federal rules, Google destroyed chats that should have been preserved for potential discovery. This is not a DOJ argument. It is a fact. DOJ may use this fact in its arguments.
We can verfiy this by looking at Google's latest response. If the parent comment's quote was a "DOJ argument" then Google should be countering it by denying it destroyed potential evidence. That is not what Google argues.
Google is arguing (a) the destruction was not an _intentional_ attempt to conceal information from the DOJ and (b) the information destroyed did not contain any _relevent_ evidence.^1
Of course it's impossible to resolve the issue presented by (b) because the information has been destroyed. Google is essentially saying, "Trust us, there wasn't anything relevant in those chats." The DOJ cannot "prove" the chats contained relevant evidence because it cannot see the chats; Google destroyed them.
Does this situation created by _Google destroying the chats_ play in Google's favour? What do readers think?
1. These quotes come from Google's latest response.^2 Italics added are mine.
"356. Plaintiffs seek to rewrite history in their contention that Google's long-time chats retention practices-of which they were on notice since the beginning of this litigation- evidence the purposeful "destruction" of evidence. DOJ Br. at 75-79. And, recycling arguments from their unsuccessful sanctions motion filed in Spring 2022 (see May 12, 2022, Minute Order), Plaintiffs spin instructions to Google employees to use care in their written communications into supposed "concealment" of evidence. DOJ Br. at 75-79. There is no basis, in fact or law, to impose sanctions on Google. Each of the Google witnesses who was questioned on these matters at trial confirmed that there was no intentional destruction of evidence, and no evidence was presented that could support the conclusion that Google concealed or destroyed relevant evidence with the intention of gaining some advantage in the litigation. Google has produced millions of documents, including all manner of formal business documents as well as more informal communications such as email, and there is no reason to believe that the record before the Court is anything less than complete."
"358. Far from supporting Plaintiffs' motion for sanctions related to Google's Chat retention policies, the trial testimony confirmed that the motion is without merit. In particular, there is no reason to believe that history-off chats created after notice of the DOJ investigation in 2019 and not otherwise preserved and produced contained material information of any significance to resolving Plaintiffs' claims. Nor is there any evidence that there was any intentional effort by Google to deprive Plaintiffs of the use of information in this litigation; after all, Google disclosed to Plaintiffs the very approach to chats preservation that they now challenge long before Plaintiffs filed their original motion. See ECF No. 529 at 7-17; ECF No. 576-1 at 1-2.16
359. Plaintiffs' proposed findings obfuscate these facts, and are designed to suggest- without supportive evidence, let alone actual proof-that some relevant information was lost."
2. https://ia802501.us.archive.org/21/items/gov.uscourts.dcd.22...