Monday, July 26, 2010

Defendant's Inadequate Data Retention Policies, Loss of Source Code for Patented Software did not Warrant Terminating Sanctions for Spoliation

Plaintiff's motion for terminating sanctions for alleged spoliation of evidence was denied. "The fact that [defendant] no longer has the original source code and the reasons it would be expected to have it will be in evidence. [Plaintiff] can argue to the jury that [defendant] should have the original source code to a program that it both patented and attempted to patent for many years. . . . But entry of judgment is a severe and extreme remedy to be used only when there is clear proof that evidence central to the case has been spoliated. [Defendant's] data retention policies, as stated many times, were clearly inadequate. However, under the backdrop of the minimal evidence [plaintiff] has obtained from other parties, it is not clear that [defendant] spoliated evidence."

Phillip M. Adams & Associates, LLC v. Lenovo International et al., 1-05-cv-00064 (UTD July 21, 2010, Memorandum Decision) (Nuffer, M.J.)

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