Category: Spoliation

  • Party Seeks A Preliminary Injunction Following Spoliation Decision

    19 Oct 2015

    In HMS Holdings Corp. et. al. v. Arendt et. al. NY Slip Op 51034(U) (July 14, 2015) (a case we previously wrote about in which the Albany County Supreme Court found that two attorney Defendants had intentionally spoliated evidence), the Plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction based upon a previous adverse inference

  • SDNY Denies EEOC Request for Punitive Damages for Document Spoliation

    16 Oct 2015

    The EEOC recently tried unsuccessfully to obtain punitive damages for spoliation against an employer in EEOC v. Mavis Discount Tire, Inc. et. al., Case No. 12-741 (S.D.N.Y., September 11, 2015). Plaintiff brought an action against Defendant for violations of Title VII, alleging sex discrimination in its hiring practices against female

  • Spoliation Sanctions Sought After Police Department “Wipes” Computer Metadata from Police Car

    14 Oct 2015

    In McCabe v. Gonzalez, Case No. 13-0435 (D. Idaho, Sept. 25, 2015), Plaintiff sued Defendant, a police officer, for violations of the Fourth Amendment based upon his arrest for possession of drugs. During the suit, Plaintiff subpoenaed the police department and dispatch for, among other things, the metadata from the

  • Default Judgment Entered As Sanction for Discovery Violations, Including ESI Spoliation

    5 Oct 2015

    In Herman v. Herman, 2015 NY Slip. Op. 31205(U) (N.Y.S.C., NY Co., 2015), a case involving the purchase of a trust’s interests in real property, the New York State Supreme Court considered the appropriate sanction for severe discovery violations, including willful document destruction in violation of a court order. Early in the litigation, the parties had

  • Court Denies Motion for Spoliation Sanctions Due To Lack of Specificity

    21 Sep 2015

    In Brown v. Oakland County, Case No. 14-13159 (E.D. Mich., Sept. 4, 2015), Plaintiff sued Defendant, her former employer, for age and race discrimination and wrongful termination. During discovery, Plaintiff concluded that Defendant had spoliated electronic evidence.  Plaintiff filed a Motion seeking an adverse inference instruction against Defendant based upon

  • Maryland District Court Imposes Spoliation Sanctions

    16 Sep 2015

    In Cognate BioServices, Inc., et. al. v. Smith, et. al., Case No. 13-1797 (D. Md., Aug. 31, 2015), the District of Maryland recently considered whether to sanction Defendant for spoliation of evidence. Defendant Smith is the former CEO of Plaintiff Cognate. While employed at Cognate, Smith took part in contract negotiations between Cognate and

  • Court Denies Plaintiff’s Spoliation Motion in Veterinarian Dispute

    4 Sep 2015

    In Grove City Veterinary Service, LLC et. al. v. Charter Practices International, LLC, Case No. 13-02276 (Aug. 18, 2015), Plaintiff veterinarians filed a Motion for Sanctions against Defendant veterinary hospital owner, claiming that Defendant had spoliated ESI. Defendant had requested that one of the Plaintiff veterinarians produce his responsive emails. When Plaintiff searched for the emails on

  • Northern District of Ohio Denies Motion to Amend Complaint to Add Spoliation Claims

    14 Aug 2015

    In Rodriguez v. United States, 14-02526 (July 14, 2015), the Northern District of Ohio considered a plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint to add spoliation claims. Plaintiff sued the U.S. federal government, claiming that he received negligent treatment at a Department of Veteran Affairs (“VA”) hospital that directly caused a heart attack. Plaintiff later sought to amend

  • Court Orders Evidentiary Hearing on ESI Spoliation Allegations

    27 Jul 2015

    In Harte et. al. v. Board of Commissioners of Johnson County Kansas, et. al., Case No. 13-cv-02586 (July 13, 2015), the District Court for the District of Kansas considered Plaintiffs’ motion to impose sanctions against Defendants for “obstructive practices in conducting discovery.” The suit alleges that on April 20, 2012 Defendants improperly entered

  • Court Finds No Spoliation Despite Destruction of Privileged Files

    13 Jul 2015

    In Charvat et. al. v. Valente et. al., 12-5746, the Northern District of Illinois considered whether Defendant Carnival Corporation had engaged in spoliation when it deleted certain files from its employees’ computers after those employees had ceased working for Carnival. Plaintiffs sued based upon alleged improper conduct by one of the defendants,