Brief Description of Case:
This is an action in which plaintiff seeks recovery for personal injuries allegedly sustained when he fell 6 stories from a scaffold while performing construction work. The general contractor sought spoliation sanctions against the insured, arguing that the insured threw out records that would likely support its argument that the insured, without its knowledge or approval, hired plaintiff’s employer.
Court or Jury’s Decision and Reasoning:
The court denied the general contractor spoliation motion in its entirety, determining: (1) that the general contractor failed to demonstrate that the insured intentionally or negligently throughout records that were critical to the general contractor; and (2) that the general contractor failed to establish that it sustained prejudice resulting from the insured’s disposal of records that were already in the general contractor’s possession.