They assumed IT was saving the email? after a court order? and no one was making sure of it? They didnt put into place any monitoring or corrective measure to insure the survival of cour ordered documents.
That is on the verge of criminally negligent. Its very irresponsible to conduct policy like that.
Intel can make 35B a year, out wrestle AMD in every way but some how all their brilliance cannot follow a court order. And its highly likely that they have some of the best lawyers in the world.
I dont buy the "oops we messed up ;sorry its not our fault" bit. It was a serious administrative screw up. And it reeks of intent.