Tag:Spoliation

Key Insight: Appellate court found that trial court did not err in failing to grant Plaintiff?s request for an adverse presumption for insurance company?s failure to preserve a relevant file that was instead purged pursuant to the company?s document retention policy where Plaintiff provided no evidence of fraudulent conduct or intentional destruction; court further noted that Plaintiff failed to explain how the failure to provide an adverse inference (a lesser sanction than an adverse presumption) altered the court?s ?summary disposition analysis? reasoning that the court was already required to consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party

Nature of Case: Claims arising from a slip and fall involving questions related to insurance coverage

Electronic Data Involved: Underwriting file

Key Insight: Finding that the alleged spoliator had no notice of the potential relevance of the allegedly spoliated data and that the information?namely maintenance records?was available elsewhere, court concluded that he moving party failed to establish that the data at issue was ?crucial? to its case and denied motion for sanctions

Nature of Case: Claims arising from auto accident

Electronic Data Involved: Engine related data from Electronic Control Module (e.g., the speed of the tractor/trailer, the rotation of RPMs of the engine)

Key Insight: Court granted defendants? motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff?s claim of spoliation related to video footage of the alleged excessive force where the tape was destroyed pursuant to the jail?s document retention policy after five days and plaintiff?s case was not filed for almost one year and where the court indicated there was no evidence that defendants knew litigation was probable; court did note in footnote, however, that five days is a short retention time and that ?a prudent jail would keep the video of a takedown incident for a longer period of time?

Nature of Case: Claims of excessive force against police officers

Electronic Data Involved: Video surveillance footage

Key Insight: Magistrate Judge did not act contrary to law by ordering that, as a sanction for grossly negligent spoliation of audio tapes pursuant to Defendant?s retention policy, there would be a presumption of a factual dispute at the summary judgment state as to whether Plaintiff hung up on a customer and that if the case proceeded to trial, the court should instruct the jury with a ?spoliation charge? ?not an adverse inference?which would allow but not require the jury to presume that the lost evidence was relevant and favorable to the innocent party; District Court acknowledged that bad faith was necessary to impose an adverse inference, but found that this was not an adverse inference and was therefore within the court?s discretion

Nature of Case: wrongful termination

Electronic Data Involved: Audio tapes of relevant phone calls

Key Insight: Court declined to impose spoliation sanctions absent evidence of bad faith

Nature of Case: Employment Discrimination

Electronic Data Involved: Investigation file, original medical records, “comments section” of medical records from computer system

Key Insight: Reviewing for abuse of discretion circuit court affirmed lower court?s denial of motion for an adverse inference based on loss of TASER records where the evidence indicated the loss resulted from a computer error or possibly negligence and where absent evidence of bad faith, no adverse inference was appropriate; court also recognized that allowing plaintiffs to question witnesses about the missing evidence amounted to a lesser sanction for spoliation

Nature of Case: ? 1983 claims

Electronic Data Involved: TASER records