SAP, Waste Management and Lawyers

Trashy behavior?

Infoworld's got a real treat in this piece on the SAP/Waste Management litigation.

Some of the highlights (and I do mean some (not all)) include: - Waste Management has produced over 940,000 documents while SAP has delivered over 300,000 - SAP wants to delay events until spring of 2010 - each side has its own spin re: the cooperation (or lack thereof) of the other side - depositions aren't getting completed in a timely manner

When I negotiate a software contract, I really like to craft all sorts of "pre-nup" clauses into a deal so that if a problem flares up during or after implementation, both sides can avoid the actions in play in this litigation. I don't have anything against litigators but disputes like this are a huge disruption for executives on both sides, generate negative PR for everyone and can be exceptionally expensive. Without a great pre-nup, lawyers and expert witnesses are usually the only sure-fire winners.

At this point, a judge will often tell one or both parties to settle. I'm sure in those 1.2 million documents someone should be able to find a handful of documents that either make or break this case. Find those documents and get this resolved. At the rate both parties are proceeding with this case, it will be a war of attrition. I think I'll check in on this case after a couple million more documents surface. Wake me when something interesting pops up.