ITC Sanctions For "Staggering" Destruction Of Evidence Upheld

Addressing the imposition of sanctions for spoliation in a US International Trade Commission (ITC) case, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the ITC's imposition of default judgment sanctions and an exclusion order for the willful destruction of evidence, twice citing the administrative law judge's characterization of the behavior as "gross bad faith." Organik Kimya, San. Ve Tic. A.S. v. ITC, Case No. 15-1774 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 15, 2017) (O'Malley, J).

The case relates to trade secrets for opaque polymers, hollow spheres that are added to paint to increase its opacity. Dow filed an ITC complaint seeking an investigation into Organik Kimya's product based on infringement of four patents. During the course of discovery, Dow added trade secret misappropriation claims after discovering that Organik may have worked with three former Dow employees to develop its opaque polymers.