Sentry Select Ins. Co. v. Treadwell

The trial court erroneously struck the defendant's answer, relying in significant part on erroneous findings regarding spoliation of certain evidence to impose the most extreme sanction of striking the answer.

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This is an appeal from an order striking the defendants’ answer for spoliation of evidence. There was spoliation. But the trial court’s findings as to spoliation of certain categories of evidence are not supported by the record. Accordingly, we reverse the order striking the answer and remand the case for the trial court to determine what, if any, sanctions are appropriate.

On the evening of December 9, 2006, Martin Treadwell, Jr. was towing a car behind his pickup truck as he drove on Interstate 16. His wife Essie Treadwell was a passenger in the pickup truck. Tony Martin, who was driving a tractor-trailer for Premier Transportation, ran into the towed car from the rear. On November 17, 2008, Essie Treadwell filed a lawsuit against Martin, J.H.O.C., Inc., d/b/a Premier Transportation, and Sentry Select Insurance Company, alleging negligence and seeking to recover damages for personal injuries. Treadwell subsequently moved to strike the defendants’ answer due to alleged spoliation of the following evidence: Martin’s logbooks, data from a GeoLogic system on his vehicle and data from the Electronic Control Module ECM on his vehicle. On November 9, 2011, the trial court issued an order granting the motion and striking the answer, finding as matters of fact that the defendants had “destroyed the driver’s trip documents, including log books, ECM data, GeoLogic data and results from the investigation.” After we granted their application for interlocutory review, Sentry Select, Premier and Martin filed this appeal.

Sentry Select Ins. Co. v. Treadwell

The trial court erroneously struck the defendant's answer, relying in significant part on erroneous findings regarding spoliation of certain evidence to impose the most extreme sanction of striking the answer.

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