De Los Santos v. Polanco
Decision Date | 08 August 2005 |
Docket Number | 2005-01947. |
Citation | 2005 NY Slip Op 06299,21 A.D.3d 397,799 N.Y.S.2d 776 |
Parties | VALDEMIRIAN DE LOS SANTOS et al., Appellants, v. ANIBAL POLANCO et al., Respondents, et al., Defendant. |
Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court has broad discretion in determining the appropriate sanction for spoliation of evidence (see Allstate Ins Co. v. Kearns, 309 AD2d 776 [2003]). Because striking a pleading is a drastic sanction to impose in the absence of willful or contumacious conduct, the prejudice that results from the spoliation must be considered in order to determine whether such drastic relief is necessary as a matter of fundamental fairness (see Favish v. Tepler, 294 AD2d 396 [2002]). Thus, where a party destroys key evidence such that its opponents are deprived of appropriate means to confront a claim with incisive evidence, the spoliator may be punished by the striking of its pleading (see Foncette v. LA Express, 295 AD2d 471, 472 [2002]; New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Turnerson's Elec., 280 AD2d 652, 653 [2001]; DiDomenico v. C & S Aeromatik Supplies, 252 AD2d 41, 53 [1998]). A less severe sanction is appropriate, however, where the missing evidence does not deprive the moving party of the ability to establish his or her case or defense (see Ifraimov v. Phoenix Indus. Gas, LLC, 4 AD3d 332, 333 [2004]; Mylonas v. Town of Brookhaven, 305 AD2d 561, 563 [2003]; Klein v. Ford Motor Co., 303 AD2d 376, 377 [2003]; Marro v. St. Vincent's Hosp. & Med. Ctr. of N.Y., 294 AD2d 341 [2002]; Chiu Ping Chung v. Caravan Coach Co., 285 AD2d 621 [2001]). Furthermore, where the plaintiffs and defendants are equally affected by the loss of the items in their investigation of the accident and neither have reaped an unfair advantage in the litigation, it is improper to dismiss a pleading on the basis of spoliation of evidence (see Lawson v. Aspen Ford, Inc., 15 AD3d 628, 629-630 [2005]; Ifraimov v. Phoenix Indus. Gas, supra at 334; O'Reilly v. Yavorskiy, 300 AD2d 456, 457 [2002]; Foncette v. LA Express, supra).
The plaintiffs failed to establish that without the police vehicle they were deprived of the evidence needed to prove that the police were speeding at the time of the accident and thus were acting in "reckless disregard" of the plaintiffs' safety. The plaintiffs presented no reason why the vehicle in which they were passengers cannot be examined by an accident reconstructionist to determine, based upon the point of impact and the...
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...neither have reaped an unfair advantage in the litigation, the striking of a pleading is not warranted. (Del Los Santos v. Polanco, 21 A.D.2d 397, 799 N.Y.S.2d 776 (2d Dept. 2005); Lfraimov v. Phoenix Indus. Gas, 4 A.D.3d 332, 772 N.YS.2d 78 (2d Dept. 2005); Lawson v. Aspen Ford, 15 A.D.3d ......
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...adverse inference and requiring the guilty party to pay fees incurred in seeking the sanctions. See also De Los Santos v. Polanco , 799 N.Y.S.2d 776 (N.Y.A.D., 2 Dept., 2005); Zubulake v. USB Warburg LLC , 382 Fed. Supp.2d 536 (S.D.N.Y., 2005); E*Trade Securities, LLC v. Deutsche Bank AG , ......
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Electronic, Digital and Other Media
...See also Silvestri v. General Motors Corporation, 271 F.3d 583, 51 Fed.R.Serv.3d 694 (4th Cir. 2001). De Los Santos v. Polanco , 799 N.Y.S.2d 776 (N.Y.A.D., 2 Dept., 2005); Broccoli v. Echostar Communications Corp. , 229 F.R.D. 506 (D.Md., 2005); Clark Construction Group, Inc. v. City of Me......
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Requests for Inspection
...8-12 §8.63 Guerrilla Discovery 8-12 (Text continued on page 8-13.) Footnote 41 -- continued from page 8-11 De Los Santos v. Polanco , 799 N.Y.S.2d 776 (N.Y.A.D., 2 Dept., 2005). In a personal injury action arising from an automobile collision involving a police vehicle, the trial court acte......
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Requests for inspection
...and records are disposed of in the ordinary course of business for which no punishment should be imposed. 59 De Los Santos v. Polanco, 799 N.Y.S.2d 776 (N.Y.A.D., 2 Dept., 2005). In an automobile negligence action involving a police vehicle, the trial court acted properly when it struck the......