The prosecution or defense of an action may be greatly hampered by the loss or destruction of crucial evidence. When this occurs, the parties must look to the courts for appropriate relief. Under the common-law doctrine of spoliation, when a party negligently loses or intentionally destroys key evidence, the responsible party may be sanctioned. There may be circumstances where the destruction is so egregious that the sanction may be punitive. A pleading may be stricken where there is no lesser redress that will achieve fundamental fairness.
Generally, however, the remedy directed by the court is intended to ensure that the aggrieved party is not unfairly disadvantaged in proving its case or defending its actions. The court may impose sanctions even if the destruction of key evidence occurred through negligence rather than wilfulness to address the prejudice to the adversarial party. Sanctions may be appropriate even if the evidence was destroyed before the spoliator became a party, provided that it was on notice that the evidence might be needed for future litigation.
Judicial Discretion
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