In Wagman v Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian, No. 160709/21, 2022-05622, 771, M-3778, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 05214, 2023 WL 6626886 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept., Oct. 12, 2023), the court unanimously affirmed the lower court’s Order granting plaintiff’s motion, pursuant to CPLR 3126, to strike defendants’ answer for spoliation of evidence. In this…
Read More Failure to Preserve Slip/Fall Video Results in Stricken AnswerIn Cruz v. G-Star Inc. et al, 17-CV-7685, 2019 WL 2521299 (S.D.N.Y. June 19, 2019), an employment discrimination case involving (inter alia) allegations of sexual harassment, the court imposed sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) on defendants for engaging in spoliation of evidence (electronically-stored information, or ESI). From the decision: Here, the circumstances…
Read More Court Imposes Spoliation Sanctions in Sexual Harassment CaseIn Hsueh v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Fin. Servs., No. 15 CIV. 3401 (PAC), 2017 WL 1194706 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2017), the court imposed spoliation sanctions on a sexual harassment plaintiff arising from her deletion of a digital recording of a conversation with an HR representative. Initially, the court held that, while the recording constitutes “electronically…
Read More Court Imposes Sanctions on Sexual Harassment Plaintiff Who Deleted Audio RecordingIn Simons v. Petrarch LLC and Hicham Aboutaam, 2017 NY Slip Op 30457(U) (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. March 1, 2017) (J. Hagler), a sexual harassment case, the court applied spoliation sanctions on plaintiff. This case is instructive as to the obligations of litigants generally, and in sexual harassment cases in particular, to preserve evidence.…
Read More Sexual Harassment Plaintiff Hit With Spoliation Sanctions