Texas High Court Stakes Out Spoliation Instruction
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To say some lawyers had been waiting for years for a recent decision out of the Supreme Court of Texas is not hyperbole, according to Miriam Rozen in “Spoliation of Evidence: Long-Awaited Ruling by Texas High Court, Possible New Rules,” published in LTN’s sister publication Texas Lawyer.
The topic, spoliation of evidence and the plaintiff, a former professional football player. The case, Brookshire Brothers Ltd. v. Jerry Alridge, reversed the trial court’s $1,000,000 judgment for Alridge due to the spoliation instructions given to the jury, said Rozen. The opinion clarified when to give a spoliation instruction to a jury. A party must have intentionally concealed and destroyed discoverable evidence, explained Rozen, or in a rare occasion if it’s extremely prejudicial.
The judgment comes at a time when federal court litigators are waiting for new federal spoliation rules, said Rozen, who quotes Kent Sullivan, a partner of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan: “We are at a significant crossroads with respect to spoliation,” he said. The proposed federal court rules will be clearer than the case-law, said Rozen, with spoilers being “subject to sanctions.” These include paying reasonable expenses including attorney fees and adverse-inference jury instructions. However, these measures will only be implemented if the court finds a party acted willfully or in bad faith.
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