Tommy James Graham, Jr. v. J. Artrip, Warden, et al.

Summary

The court denied Tommy James Graham, Jr.’s motion for sanctions alleging spoliation of evidence by defendants in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court held that Graham failed to show that defendants willfully altered or destroyed evidence, and that sanctions could not be imposed for failing to produce an incident report that the evidence indicated did not exist.

Holdings

1. Spoliation sanctions are not warranted where the movant fails to show that the alleged alteration resulted from willful conduct undertaken with knowledge that the evidence was relevant to anticipated litigation; a possible clerical omission and conclusory allegations are insufficient.
2. A court cannot compel production or impose discovery sanctions for failure to produce evidence that does not exist, and speculation that the evidence once existed is insufficient to support spoliation sanctions.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendants should be sanctioned under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 for allegedly altering an incident report by omitting an officer's name.
2. Whether defendants should be sanctioned for failing to produce an incident report allegedly prepared by the officer.

Disposition

other