Sanctions – ILS

ILS Team
November 9, 2020

Cruise Line’s Alleged Failure To Preserve Video Was No Basis For Spoliation Sanctions

In Reed v Royal Caribbean Cruises, No. 1:2019cv24668 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 2, 2020), Plaintiff moved for spoliation sanctions on the grounds that Defendant failed to preserve videos of an alleged incident during a cruise. Plaintiff was a passenger on a cruise operated by Defendant. According to the complaint, during a Defendant organized dance party, an

ILS Team
November 2, 2020

Culling Through 10,000 Emails Not Overly Burdensome Rules Court

In Broussard v. Bd. of Supervisors of La. State Univ. & A & M Coll., No. 19-527-BAJ-RLB (M.D. La. Sep. 28, 2020), Plaintiff moved to compel and for sanctions under FRCP 37 on the grounds that Defendants failed to produce certain emails, among other discovery. The lawsuit arose from Plaintiff’s allegations that Defendants failed to

ILS Team
October 5, 2020

Spoliation Sanctions Motion Denied In Cruise Line Slip and Fall Case

In Hoover v. NCL, No. 19-22906 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 5, 2020), the District Court denied Plaintiff’s spoliation sanctions motion. Plaintiff was a passenger on a cruise ship operated by Defendant and slipped while walking down an outdoor stairway sustaining injuries. After the cruise, Plaintiff contacted Defendant’s claims division about her fall and injuries but did

ILS Team
September 7, 2020

Court Orders Litigation Hold Notice To Be Produced

In Radiation Oncology Servs. of Cent. N.Y., P.C. v Our Lady of Lourdes Mem. Hosp., Inc., EF15-462 (June 9, 2020 NY Supreme Court, Cortland County), Plaintiff’s motion for production of litigation hold was granted after making a preliminary showing of spoliation. The case arose from a dispute between the Plaintiff physician and Defendant hospital after

ILS Team
August 31, 2020

Court Denies Spoliation Sanctions Where Party Failed to Satisfy Elements of FRCP 37(e)

In SHACKLEFORD v IVINT SOLAR DEVELOPER LLC, No. ELH-19-954 (D. Md. Jul. 2020), the District Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for spoliation sanctions where only bare-bones allegations were provided. The case arose from Plaintiff’s claim that Defendant violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Plaintiff alleged that one of Defendant’s salespersons appeared at her house attempting to

ILS Team
August 24, 2020

Defendants’ Unilateral Relevancy Redactions Leads To Monetary Sanctions

In Cuppels v. Mountaire Corporation, C.A. No.: S18C-06-009 (Del. Sup. Ct. June 29, 2020), the Delaware Superior Court awarded monetary sanctions to Plaintiffs as a result of Defendants’ inappropriate redactions. The case arose from claims made by Plaintiffs related to the operation of a chicken processing facility. Following Defendants’ motion to dismiss, the Court entered

ILS Team
August 3, 2020

Magistrate Judge Recommends Adverse Jury Instructions and Grants Motion for Sanctions Due to Spoliation of Emails and Text Messages

In Beverly John v. County of Lake, 18-cv-06935-WHA(SK) (N.D. Cal. Jul. 3, 2020), the Magistrate Judge recommended that the District Court provide adverse inference jury instructions to the jury based upon a finding that Defendants and their counsel spoliated evidence. The Magistrate Judge also determined that monetary sanctions were appropriate. This case arose from Plaintiffs’

ILS Team
April 9, 2020

In Slip And Fall Case, Motion For Spoliation Of Video Denied Where No Duty to Preserve Video Arose Until After Lawsuit Was Filed

In Nguyen v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 9:19-cv-80393 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 27, 2020), a Florida Magistrate Judge denied plaintiff’s motion for sanctions for spoliation of a video allegedly showing a slip-and-fall by plaintiff on the grounds that defendant had no affirmative duty to preserve the video for the nearly two-year gap between the alleged accident

ILS Team
December 25, 2019

Use Of Messaging App To Auto Delete Text Messages During Discovery Phase of Case Was In Bad Faith

In Herzig v. Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc., No. 2:18-CV-02101 (W.D. Ark. July 3, 2019), the Arkansas District Judge found that Plaintiffs acted in bad faith by using and “manually configuring [the messaging app] Signal to delete text communications” and by failing to disclose those deleted messages to Defendant. However, the Court declined to

ILS Team
November 20, 2019

Claw Back of Inadvertently Produced Data Permitted Despite Lack of Rule 502(d) Order

In Bellamy v. Wal-Mart Stores, Texas, LLC, No. SA-18-CV-60-XR (W.D. Tex. Aug. 19, 2019), a Texas District Judge ruled that Defendant was entitled to “claw back” certain documents it unintentionally produced. However, the Judge still considered the inadvertently produced documents in analyzing Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions and granted Plaintiff’s motion to the extent that the