30 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Sanctions"'.
J. Horan finds that suing energy services firm is not entitled to spoilation of evidence sanctions against the sued energy services company, whose employees destroyed information on their personal cellular phones after the suing firm requested this information for its relevance to the underlying case. The information involved text messages between the two businesses’ employees, and the parties should be able to retrieve the information from its own employees so there is no evidence that the information is no longer accessible.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Horan, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv1981, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: evidence, sanctions
J. Horton finds the trial court properly entered a take-nothing judgment in a car collision case. The driver and passenger who were rear-ended say the court improperly imposed a "death penalty" sanction, excluding deposition testimony of their surgeon for their attorney’s failure to comply with the evidence scheduling order. The driver and passenger have not attached any part of the doctor's testimony to their motion for new trial, and the trial court properly enforced its scheduling order. The injured party was given the opportunity to develop a record sufficient to show no other evidence could tie the driver's surgery to the collision. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Horton , Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00001-CV, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Vehicle
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Arpert grants spoliation sanctions against Outback Steakhouse in slip and fall claims brought by a patron because surveillance video of the restaurant bathroom would have had probative value, and witness testimony would not supplement the footage. Meanwhile, the restaurant manager failed to take reasonable steps to preserve video from the USB thumb drive.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Arpert, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv18277, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Negligence
J. Wood finds that the lower court properly dismissed the death row prisoner's suit alleging he received constitutionally deficient medical care, and suffered a sexual assault in the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dismissal of defendant's case was a reasonable sanction for defendant's conduct - submitting a forged document to support his claim that he exhausted his administrative remedies. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-3308, Categories: Constitution, evidence, sanctions
J. Kuo declines to issue sanctions against a Southeast Asian broadcasting company for deleting an investor’s corporate email account, as well as for failing to preserve the hard drive of an accountant’s computer after it had crashed and for later allegedly altering financial documents after they were provided through other means. The investor alleges the company refuses to acknowledge his 50% interest, which he was supposed to receive in exchange for a $2 million investment. Google, the company’s email service provider, restored a significant portion of the relevant emails upon receiving a subpoena, and the employee fails to prove any information in the financial documents were altered.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Kuo, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv4216, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: evidence, sanctions
J. Jenkins finds that the trial court should not have imposed sanctions against an injured motorist for not providing his medical history while undergoing a medical examination. In this case, the record shows that the motorist did attend the medical examination, and the evidence was not sufficient to show that the failure to verbally give his medical history was willful disobedience of the judgment. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Jenkins, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 2023-CA-0064, Categories: evidence, sanctions
J. Campbell denies the defendant company's motion for sanctions as it relates to the alleged destruction of evidence on Dec. 29, 2019, in this product liability lawsuit stemming from a fire. The evidence at issue was "highly probative of the claims in this case," but the son's cleanup of the scene does not warrant sanctions.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Campbell, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv941, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, sanctions
J. Huntsman denies the law enforcement defendants' motion for sanctions for spoliation of evidence in this lawsuit brought by a store owner asserting claims for excessive force and false arrest, based on his alleged arrest for public intoxication. At issue are the surveillance videos from his store on the night of the incident, which were automatically overwritten after 36 hours. The court finds that there was no duty on the part of the store owner to preserve the video within that time.
Court: USDC Northern District of Oklahoma , Judge: Huntsman, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv137, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, evidence, sanctions
J. Sannes dismisses a motion for spoliations sanctions filed by the defendants in a case that seeks liability under CERCLA for the costs addressing a petroleum contamination at a former metal recycling plant in Utica, New York. During litigation, it was discovered that the litigant ordered the destruction of more than 23,000 pounds of documents containing historic records related to the facility, which the court determined was grounds for sanctions. However, the court finds the defendants’ request to dismiss its remaining state law claims, plus a $2.3 million monetary sanction, to be too drastic a penalty, recommending a smaller award for attorney fees based on the time their respective counsels spent to uncover, investigate and litigate the spoliation.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Sannes, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 6:16cv1523, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, evidence, sanctions
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney Griff Nowicki will be suspended from the practice of law for one year for engaging in sexual conduct with a client while representing that client and her husband in a civil matter. Although Nowicki eventually withdrew as counsel for the couple, he represented the wife in divorce proceedings despite an obvious conflict of interest, but his suspension will be stayed so long as he commits no further misconduct and completes continuing education classes.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3079, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Tijerina finds that the lower court properly imposed death penalty sanctions in this suit seeking to quiet title to certain properties. The appellants contend that the evidence does not support the sanction, because it does not support the finding that "the receipts proffered by appellants during discovery were fraudulent." However, a forensic document examiner testified that the deceased's signature had been copied onto the receipts, meaning there was "some evidence of a probative force." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Tijerina, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 13-21-00330-CV, Categories: evidence, Real Estate, sanctions
J. Walker finds that the district court properly dismissed sexual harassment and retaliation claims a nurse brought against a hospital based on forged text messages, but improperly sanctioned counsel for the nurse. Sanctions terminating the case were properly imposed due to the nurse's failure to preserve her iPhones and phone data, but an explicit finding of bad faith had not been made before sanctions were imposed against her attorney and his firm. Affirmed in part.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Walker, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 21-2084-cv, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Employment Retaliation
Per curiam, the Maine Supreme Court finds that the single justice properly determined that the appellant violated the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct and the Maine Bar Rules. The justice's factual findings regarding the appellant's continuing legal education and his representation of a certain client are "supported by competent record evidence." Additionally, the sanctions were not inappropriate. Affirmed.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 2023ME58, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Thrash finds in favor of the moving company in a negligence action brought by the driver arising from a car collision but denies the companies' motion for evidence spoliation sanctions. The driver failed to present evidence which would create an issue of fact as to the moving company's liability. Dismissal is not a proper sanction for the totaling of the driver's vehicle after it was involved in a subsequent collision. The companies are also not entitled to an award of fees for their accident reconstruction expert. The companies' motion for summary judgment is granted as to the driver's negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision claims but denied as to the negligence and imputed liability claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Thrash, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv628, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Negligence
J. Dysart finds that the trial court properly granted a contractor’s motion for sanctions on a worker’s claim that he was injured in a workplace accident when he fell because of a defective handrail on the trolley of a crane. In this case, the contractor consistently maintained that it did not do any work on the handrail, and the worker made no inquiry and did not produce any evidence into the involvement of the contractor with the crane prior to or after filing his lawsuit. The record supports that the worker’s counsel did not investigate into the basis of the worker’s claims against the contractor before filing the action. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Dysart, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 2022-CA-0848, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Contract
J. McDonough grants the sports bar defendants' motion for reconsideration and partially grants their motion for sanctions, which seeks the exclusion of certain documents for the "alleged failure to timely disclose this evidence." The court also grants partial summary judgment in favor of the promoter, as to the issue of liability for copyright infringement in this dispute involving the broadcast of a boxing match.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: McDonough, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv382, NOS: Cable/Sat TV - Other Suits, Categories: Copyright, evidence, sanctions
J. Estudillo grants Kitsap County's motion to reconsider the imposition of default judgement regarding the family's claim that the county failed to retain 11 hours of video evidence from Jan. 1, 2020, which is relevant to the family's lawsuit alleging that NaphCare did not maintain adequate suicide prevention practices, leading to the death of the inmate. The 11 hours of deleted videotape may not be the most critical evidence in this case and may not have much bearing on the inmate's suicide, so entering default judgment provided a disproportionate reward to the family.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Estudillo, Filed On: July 19, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5800, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: evidence, Health Care, sanctions
J. Dein allows in part a technology company’s motion for sanctions against its former employee for destruction of evidence, in a case where the former employee wiped his work laptop before returning it to the company, but claims that everything wiped from the laptop was downloaded onto two SD cards he provided. There is no way to verify that the information on the SD cards came from his work laptop or that they contain everything that was wiped and he doesn’t have a strong rationale for why he wiped the computer, which is against the company’s policies. As a result, it's not possible to prove that what was wiped was evidence that he spoiled, but he also cannot use calendar data on the SD cards to support his claims against the company for unpaid earned commissions, and he is responsible for compensating the company for the money it spent on forensic examinations of his work laptop.
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Dein, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv11770, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Employment, evidence, sanctions
J. Benton finds a lower court improperly entered a default judgment on a defendant who was caught with $34,918 in his car, which was located by police officers during a traffic stop. The government argued that the defendant refused to answer special interrogatory questions concerning the defendant's claims that he and his friend pooled the money together in order to gamble in Las Vegas. However, the defendant presented sufficient evidence in court that he provided a "firmly established" answer as to where the money came from, and that it belonged to him. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 22-3007, Categories: evidence, sanctions
J. Winmill grants in part cross-motions for sanctions for spoliation of evidence in a product liability suit after an employee was injured when a forklift failed. The workers compensation insurer alleges that the forklift manufacturer did not return a hydraulic cylinder until after discovery had closed and sold the forklift attachment at issue, and the manufacturer alleges that the insurer failed to preserve daily vehicle inspection reports. The forklift manufacturer did spoliate evidence as the forklift attachment is relevant to the claims at issue and the manufacturer's tests and inspections of the attachment are therefore excluded. The insurer had a duty to retain inspection records because they should have known the records would be relevant to the insurer's defenses. The manufacturer is entitled to a permissive adverse inference that the records would have favored the manufacturer's version of events.
Court: USDC Idaho, Judge: Winmill, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv376, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Product Liability
J. Estudillo grants the family's motion for sanctions against Kitsap County, as it withheld video evidence in litigation stemming from the inmate's death by suicide. Kitsap County's argument that it did not preserve the 11 hours of video concerning the inmate's suicide because a corrections officer did not believe it was relevant to the family's requests is insufficient, and a reasonable person could conclude that the evidence was deliberately destroyed to harm the family's case.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Estudillo, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5800, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, evidence, sanctions
J. McShan finds that the lower court properly sanctioned a ballroom for failing to preserve surveillance video after being warned personal injury claims may be brought concerning a slip and fall accident that occurred at a wedding reception. The request sufficiently stated plaintiff had been seeking more than video of the slip and fall incident, and adverse inference sanctions were appropriate under the circumstances. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: McShan, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 535255, Categories: evidence, sanctions, Negligence