New York Clarifies Rules Surrounding Sanctions In Two Spoliation Cases

The Second Department of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division issued two decisions in Phelps-Vachier v. Genovese Drug Stores, Inc. and Milazzo v. Best Mkt. on claims of spoliation of evidence.

Both Phelps and Milazzo were slip-and-fall cases where the defendants preserved a portion of surveillance footage that the plaintiffs deemed inadequate.

The Milazzo plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on a blueberry at a grocery store. The grocery store recorded and preserved approximately two minutes and 45 seconds of footage prior to the plaintiff's fall and the fall itself. The remainder of footage was automatically overwritten 30 days later and unavailable during the litigation. The plaintiff argued for sanctions because the defendant failed to preserve an hour of footage prior to the fall.