Judge's gavel with view of city in background.


Spoliation—the alteration, destruction, or otherwise failure to preserve evidence, either intentionally or negligently, that is relevant to an ongoing or anticipated litigation—is an issue that courts have long struggled with. As spoliation has the potential to prevent a party from proving or defending a case, courts have implemented rules and sanctions to address the nature of the spoliation in question in an attempt to maintain a degree of fairness to the parties.