Court Addresses What Constitutes “Bad Faith,” Imposes Adverse Inference & Monetary Sanctions
Bozic v. City of Washington, No. 2:11-cv-674, 2012 WL 6050610 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 5, 2012)
Addressing Plaintiff’s accusation of spoliation based on the destruction of the contents of an audio tape, the court considered “the requisite mental state or level of scienter” necessary to establish bad faith, as is required in the Third Circuit, and found that the circumstances surrounding the destruction established sufficient culpability, that it was “highly likely” that Plaintiff was materially prejudiced, and that “no lesser sanction than at least a spoliation adverse inference would avoid substantial unfairness” and ordered an adverse inference and monetary sanctions.