Yontz v. Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc., No. 3:13-cv-066 2014 WL 5109741 (S.D.Ohio Oct.10, 2014)

Key Insight: In this FMLA interference case, Defendant?s motion for summary judgment was denied, in part because the court found merit in Plaintiff?s spoliation claim. Defendant claimed there was no willful destruction of relevant email that was missing from their computer system. However, in deposition Defendant stated that ?there has not been any automatic deletion? from its system, and ?the only way that emails could have been deleted?would have been manually by an end user.? The Court found that to the extent email was missing a reasonable juror could find it was deleted by an employee. Additionally, the required element of a culpable state of mind was shown by Defendant?s failure to implement a litigation hold, which was a violation of their company policy. ?Where Dole?s own policies require retention, and there is testimony documents were not retained but manually deleted by the user, there is a genuine issue for the jury.?

Nature of Case: Employment Law

Electronic Data Involved: ESI