Holliday v. American Casualty Co. of Reading, PA
Filing
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ORDER Granting in Part and Denying in Part 30 Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff shall have an opportunity to be heard prior to the imposition of sanctions at a hearing set for Monday, May 20, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., in courtroom 3A. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 5/10/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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ERIC HOLIDAY,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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AMERICAN CASUALTY CO. OF
READING, PA dba MARCH USA, INC.,
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Defendant.
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2:11-cv-02089-GMN-NJK
ORDER
Before the Court is Defendant American Casualty Co. of Reading, PA’s Motion to
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Dismiss Plaintiff’s Claims of Cervical Spine Injury on the Grounds of Spoilation of Evidence
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(#30). The Court has considered the Defendant’s Motion (#30), the Plaintiff’s Response (#36),
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and the Defendant’s Reply (#39).
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BACKGROUND
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This dispute arose from a motor vehicle accident that occurred on July 11, 2005. The
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Plaintiff was allegedly driving a truck owned by his employer when he ran out of gas. The
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Plaintiff pulled his truck as far to the right as he could and turned on his hazard lights. He could
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not pull onto the shoulder, however, due to freeway construction. The Plaintiff contacted his
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employer and proceeded to wait by the side of the road. The Plaintiff was then rear-ended by a
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late-model Dodge Ram pickup truck.
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In March 2006, the Plaintiff notified the Defendant that he would be making an uninsured
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motorist claim under his employer’s policy with American Casualty. On July 11, 2011, the
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Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint in the Eighth District Court in Clark County, Nevada,
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alleging breach of contract. The Defendant removed the case on December 23, 2011.
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Among the Plaintiff’s claims are that he suffered serious and disabling injuries, including
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cervical spine injuries. On November 21, 2012, the Defendant deposed the Plaintiff. During the
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deposition, the Plaintiff explained that his treating doctor had indicated that the Plaintiff’s pain
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was not improving because his injuries were permanent. The Plaintiff also testified that he had
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some new x-rays taken at his last chiropractic visit which showed that his C2 vertebra was still
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significantly out of place, even after years of treatment. The Plaintiff stated he intended to give
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those x-rays to the Defendant’s neurosurgery expert, but was unable to do so because the expert
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was in surgery when he attempted to give the x-rays over.
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The Defendant has since made numerous attempts to collect those x-rays. However, upon
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requesting the x-rays from the facility in which they were taken, the Defendant learned that the
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Plaintiff had taken the only copy of the x-rays from the facility sometime before his deposition
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on November 21, 2012. The Plaintiff claims he took the x-rays with the intent of providing them
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to the Defendant either though its expert or at the deposition. However, to date, the Plaintiff has
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not produced the x-rays. The Plaintiff indicates that he has now misplaced the x-rays, and
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continues to look for them. The Plaintiff has also indicated that he is willing to submit to new x-
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rays.
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Based on the assumption that the x-rays are permanently misplaced, the Defendant
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requests that the Court Dismiss the Plaintiff’s cervical spine injury claims entirely or,
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alternatively, allow an adverse inference that the x-rays would show that the Plaintiff’s condition
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has improved and preclude the Plaintiff’s treating medical providers from testifying regarding the
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contents of the lost x-rays, that the Plaintiff’s condition has worsened, and that the Plaintiff’s
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condition will require future medical care. Docket No. 39, at 2. Additionally, the Defendant
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requests costs and fees associated with preparing its motion. Id.
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The Defendant asserts that the lost set of x-rays are critical evidence because without
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them, the Plaintiff cannot prove that he is permanently injured.
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DISCUSSION
I.
Request for Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Cervical Spine Injury Claims due to Spoilation
Spoliation is the “destruction or material alteration of evidence or the failure to preserve
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property for another's use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation.” West v.
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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 167 F.3d 776, 779 (2d Cir.1999) (citing Black's Law Dictionary
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1401 (6th ed.1990)). The Federal Court has the ability to impose sanctions for spoliation arising
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from the court's “inherent power to control the judicial process and litigation, but the power is
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limited to that necessary to redress conduct ‘which abuses the judicial process.’” Silvestri v.
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General Motors Corporation, 271 F.3d 583, 590 (4th Cir.2001). However, prior to imposing
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sanctions, the court must first make a finding of fault. Id. Then, the court should fashion a
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remedy which serves “the prophylactic, punitive, and remedial rationales underlying the
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spoilation doctrine.” Id. (quoting West, 167 F.3d at 779).
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A.
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With respect to a party's duty to preserve material evidence, even if the party does not
Fault
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“own or control the evidence, he still has an obligation to give the opposing party notice of
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access to the evidence or of the possible destruction of the evidence if the party anticipates
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litigation involving that evidence.” Id. at 591 (citing Andersen v. Schwartz, 687 N.Y.S.2d 232,
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234–35 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1999)); see also Wm. T. Thompson Co. v. General Nutrition Corp., Inc., 593
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F.Supp. 1443, 1455 (C.D. Cal. 1984) (“While a litigant is under no duty to keep or retain every
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document in its possession once a complaint is filed, it is under a duty to preserve what it knows,
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or reasonably should know, is relevant in the action, is reasonably calculated to lead to the
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discovery of admissible evidence, is reasonably likely to be requested during discovery, and/or is
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the subject of a pending discovery request.”) .
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Here, the Plaintiff does not dispute that he was in possession of the recent x-rays at issue
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in this motion and he admits that, although he continues to look for the x-rays, they “cannot be
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located.” Docket No. 36, at 4. Thus, the Court finds that the Plaintiff is at fault for the loss of the
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recent x-rays.
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B.
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There are two sources of authority under which the Court can sanction a party who has
Remedy
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despoiled evidence: the inherent power of federal courts to levy sanctions in response to abusive
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litigation practices, and the availability of sanctions under Rule 37 against a party who “fails to
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obey an order to provide or permit discovery.” Fjelstad v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 762 F.2d 1334,
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1337-38 (9th Cir.1985); Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2)(C). However, prior to imposing sanctions or
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redressing conduct, it must be shown whether the missing evidence is critical to the case of the
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moving party. May v. F/V LORENA MARIE, 2011 WL 1875470 (D. Alaska May 16, 2011)
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(citing Nichols v. State Farm Fare and Casualty Co., 6 P.3d 300, 304 (Alaska 2000)); see also
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Babich v. River Oaks Toyota, 879 N.E .2d 420 (1st Dist., 2007).
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Dismissal is an available sanction when “a party has engaged deliberately in deceptive
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practices that undermine the integrity of judicial proceedings” because “courts have inherent
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power to dismiss an action when a party has willfully deceived the court and engaged in conduct
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utterly inconsistent with the orderly administration of justice.” Leon v. IDX Sys. Corp., 464 F.3d
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951, 958 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Natural Beverage Distributors, 69 F.3d
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337, 348 (9th Cir. 1995)). Before imposing the “harsh sanction” of dismissal, however, the Court
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must consider the following factors: “(1) the public's interest in expeditious resolution of
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litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its dockets; (3) the risk of prejudice to the party seeking
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sanctions; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the
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availability of less drastic sanctions.” Id.
The Court is not required to make explicit findings regarding each of these factors, United
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States ex rel. Wiltec Guam, Inc. v. Kahaluu Constr. Co., 857 F.2d 600, 603(9th Cir.1988), but, a
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finding of “willfulness, fault, or bad faith” is required for dismissal to be proper. Anheuser-
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Busch, 69 F.3d at 348. Additionally, the district court must consider “less severe alternatives”
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than outright dismissal. U.S. for Use & Ben. of Wiltec Guam, Inc. v. Kahaluu Const. Co., Inc.,
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857 F.2d 600, 604 (9th Cir. 1988.).
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1.
Bad Faith
A party's destruction of evidence qualifies as willful spoliation if the party has “some
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notice that the documents were potentially relevant to the litigation before they were destroyed.”
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Leon, 464 F.3d at 959 (emphasis in original) (quoting United States v. Kitsap Physicians Serv.,
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314 F.3d 995, 1001 (9th Cir.2002)).
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Here, there is no dispute that the x-rays are relevant to this litigation. The Plaintiff asserts
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permanent cervical spine injuries which, he claims have not improved, despite several years of
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treatment. Thus, the most recent x-rays would presumably show whether the Plaintiff’s spine has
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improved. Additionally, the Plaintiff does not dispute that he knew the x-rays were relevant to
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the litigation before he misplaced them. Thus, the Court finds that the Plaintiff’s misplacement of
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the x-rays, while he was on notice that the x-rays were relevant, amounts to willful spoilation.
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Prejudice
The prejudice inquiry “looks to whether the [spoiling party's] actions impaired [the
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non-spoiling party's] ability to go to trial or threatened to interfere with the rightful decision of
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the case.” Leon, 464 F.3d at 959 (citing Wiltec Guam, 857 F.2d at 604). For example, in
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Anheuser-Busch, the Ninth Circuit found prejudice when a party's refusal to provide certain
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documents “forced Anheuser to rely on incomplete and spotty evidence” at trial.
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Anheuser-Busch, 69 F.3d at 348 .
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Here, the loss of the most recent x-rays does not threaten to interfere with the rightful
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decision in this case nor does it force the Defendant to rely on incomplete or spotty evidence. The
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Defendant does not assert that the lost x-rays provide a critical snap-shot in time of the Plaintiff’s
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injuries.1 Rather, the Defendant argues that the x-rays would demonstrate whether the Plaintiff’s
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vertebra remain out of place. Docket No. 30, at 13. The Plaintiff is alleging that he has sustained
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permanent cervical spine injuries which have not improved, despite several years of treatment.
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Although the Defendant claims that “Plaintiff himself admitted in his Opposition that
new x-rays will not cure the problem when he acknowledged the possibility that new x-rays
might show something different that the x-rays that he lost.” Docket No. 39, at 5 (emphasis in
original), a review of the Plaintiff’s Opposition indicates that this is a mischaracterization of the
Plaintiff’s argument. The Plaintiff is merely stating that he cannot predict the future and tell the
Court with complete certainty what new x-rays might tell. See Docket No. 36.
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Thus, the question is whether the Plaintiff currently has the alleged injury, not whether he was
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injured at the time the x-ray was taken.2 The critical evidence, therefore, is the Plaintiff’s spine,
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and not the x-ray.3 Considering that the Plaintiff’s spine still exists and that there are no
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affirmative allegations that the x-ray captured a critical moment in time, the Court concludes that
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the lost x-rays are not critical to the case.4 Additionally, the Defendant is not prejudiced by the
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lost x-rays because the Plaintiff has agreed to provide more recent x-rays of his spine, which
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would indeed show whether he has the alleged ongoing injury.
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3.
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Less Drastic Sanctions
Here, the less drastic sanctions are obvious. The Plaintiff asserts that he has a permanent
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spine injury which is visible via x-ray, and the Defendant lacks x-rays to verify this claim.
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Accordingly, the Plaintiff shall submit to an x-ray exam and provide copies of the x-rays to the
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Defendants. Failure to comply with this Order may result in the dismissal of the cervical spine
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claims.
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Additionally, the Court should fashion a remedy which serves “the prophylactic, punitive,
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and remedial rationales underlying the spoilation doctrine.” Silvestri, 271 F.3d at 590. Here, the
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Court finds that appropriate punitive sanctions may include imposing on the Plaintiff the cost of
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the delay in the production of x-rays of his spine. The Plaintiff shall bear the cost of replacing
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the x-rays and providing the x-rays to the Defendant and its experts, as well as any other costs
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caused by the delay in the production of the recent x-ray which would not have otherwise been
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incurred had the Plaintiff provided recent x-rays without delay. This includes, but is not limited
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Neither the Defendant or the Plaintiff argue that the Plaintiff’s condition may have changed
since the taking of the x-ray. The dispute concerns whether the Plaintiff has permanent injuries.
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Prior to imposing sanctions or redressing conduct, it must be shown whether the missing
evidence is critical to the case of the moving party. May v. F/V LORENA MARIE, 2011 WL 1875470
(D. Alaska May 16, 2011) (citing Nichols v. State Farm Fare and Casualty Co., 6 P.3d 300, 304
(Alaska 2000)); see also Babich v. River Oaks Toyota, 879 N.E .2d 420 (1st Dist., 2007).
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The Court notes that the Defendant does not claim it requested the Plaintiff to take
additional x-rays. Rather it appears that the Defendant sought the existing x-rays only upon learning
they existed, as it was entitled to do. However, until the Defendant learned about those x-rays, there
is no indication that it believed recent x-rays were necessary to present its case. This further indicates
that the lost x-rays are not critical to the Defendant’s case.
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to, any depositions which must be retaken. Finally, any references by the Plaintiff and/or his
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experts concerning the lost set of x-rays shall be stricken.
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Prior to imposing these sanctions, the Court will allow the Plaintiff an opportunity to be
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heard, and the Defendant an opportunity to respond, at a hearing set for Monday, May 20, 2013,
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at 11:00 a.m., in courtroom 3A.
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In sum, three of the five dismissal factors support denying the request to dismiss the
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Plaintiff’s cervical spine claims. The lack of prejudice, the availability of less drastic sanctions,
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and the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits all weigh against dismissal.
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Only the management of the Court’s docket and the public interest in the expeditious resolution
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of the case weigh in favor of dismissal. Accordingly, the Court finds that the harsh sanction of
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dismissal is not appropriate in this case.
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II.
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Request for Adverse Inference
In the event that the Court does not dismiss the Plaintiff’s cervical spine injury claims,
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which, as discussed above, it will not, the Defendant has requested an adverse inference that the
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x-rays would show that the Plaintiff’s condition has improved and preclude the Plaintiff’s
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treating medical providers from testifying regarding the contents of the lost x-rays, that the
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Plaintiff’s condition has worsened, and that the Plaintiff’s condition will require future medical
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care. Docket No. 39, at 2.
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“A federal trial court has the inherent discretionary power to make appropriate
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evidentiary rulings in response to the destruction or spoliation of relevant evidence.” Med. Lab.
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Mgmt. Consultants v. Am. Broad. Companies, Inc., 306 F.3d 806, 823-24 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing
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Glover v. BIC Corp., 6 F.3d 1318, 1329 (9th Cir.1993)). This power includes the power to
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sanction the responsible party by instructing the jury that it may infer that the spoiled or
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destroyed evidence would have been unfavorable to the responsible party. Id.; Akiona v. United
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States, 938 F.2d 158, 161 (9th Cir.1991). When relevant evidence is lost accidentally or for an
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innocent reason, an adverse evidentiary inference from the loss may be rejected. Med. Lab.
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Mgmt. Consultants, 306 F.3d at 823-24 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing Blinzler v. Marriott Int'l, Inc., 81
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F.3d 1148, 1159 (1st Cir.1996)). For example, in Med. Lab. Mgmt. Consultants, the district court
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concluded that, under the totality of the circumstances, an unfavorable inference was not
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warranted because a rational jury would not infer that Defendants' loss of pap-smear slides
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indicated that the slides threatened Defendants' legal position and needed to be covered up. Med.
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Lab. Mgmt. Consultants, 306 F.3d at 823-24 (9th Cir. 2002); citing Brewer v. Quaker State Oil
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Ref. Corp., 72 F.3d 326, 334 (3d Cir.1995) (the district court did not abuse its discretion in
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refusing an unfavorable inference when the circumstances indicated that the evidence was not
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intentionally lost and the responsible party searched for it, but to no avail); Latimore v. Citibank
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Fed. Sav. Bank, 151 F.3d 712, 716 (7th Cir.1998) (the inference that a missing record contained
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adverse evidence was not justified when the record's loss was inadvertent); see also Akiona, 938
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F.2d at 161 (noting that “a party who has notice that [evidence] is relevant to litigation and who
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proceeds to destroy the [evidence] is more likely to have been threatened by the [evidence] than
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is a party in the same position who does not destroy the [evidence],” and that the adverse
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inference is based upon evidentiary and deterrence rationales) (quoting Welsh *825 v. United
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States, 844 F.2d 1239, 1246 (6th Cir.1988)).
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Here, there is no indication that the Plaintiff destroyed or intentionally lost the x-rays.
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Rather, the loss appears to be accidental or for an innocent reason. Thus, an adverse evidentiary
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inference from the loss may be rejected. See Med. Lab. Mgmt. Consultants, 306 F.3d at 823-24
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(9th Cir. 2002). Considering the totality of the circumstances, including the inadvertence of the
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loss and the Plaintiff’s willingness to submit to additional x-rays, the Court denies the request for
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an adverse evidentiary inference.
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III.
Request for Costs and Fees Incurred in Preparing Motion
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The Defendant has requested costs and fees associated with bringing this motion. The
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Court denies this request. Although the Plaintiff is at fault for having lost a set of x-rays, the
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proper course of action for the Defendant would have been to move to compel the production of
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recent x-rays of the Plaintiff’s spine. Prior to moving to compel, however, the Defendant would
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have met and conferred with the Plaintiff on this dispute in an effort to avoid court involvement.
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Had the Defendant met and conferred with the Plaintiff on this issue, it is likely that the parties
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could have resolved this dispute without bringing the present motion. Thus, the Court finds that
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the cost of the costs and fees the Defendant incurred in preparing this motion should not be
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imposed on the Plaintiff.
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Additionally, the Court finds that the costs and fees incurred by the Plaintiff in
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responding to this motion should not be imposed on the Defendant because this entire dispute
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could have been avoided had the Plaintiff not lost the x-rays.
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CONCLUSION
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Based on the foregoing, and good cause appearing therefore,
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the portion of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
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Plaintiff’s Claims of Cervical Spine Injury on the Grounds of Spoilation of Evidence (#30) is
DENIED in part and GRANTED in part.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Defendant’s request for dismissal of claims
DENIED;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Defendant’s request for adverse inference is
DENIED;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Defendant’s request for costs and fees is
DENIED;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Defendant’s requests for sanctions generally, is
GRANTED pending the hearing set for May 20, 2013;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Plaintiff shall have an opportunity to be heard
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prior to the imposition of sanctions at a hearing set for Monday, May 20, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., in
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courtroom 3A.
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DATED this
10th
day of May, 2013
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NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge
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