Foreman v. Two Farms, Inc.

Superior Court of Delaware·Decided October 4, 2018·No. K17C-01-009 JJC·Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE BETTY FOREMAN,

C.A. N0. K17C-01-009 JJC In and for Kent County

Plaintiff, v.

TWO FARMS, INC., and MOORES LAKE SHOPPING CENTER, LLC,

\./\/\./\./\/\_/\,/\/\/\./

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

Upon Plaintiff’s Motion for an Adverse Inference Instruction Granted Upon Defendants Motion in Limine to Preclua'e References to Missing Survez`llance Video Denied Upon Defendants Motion in Limine to Preclua'e Plaintijj”’$ Photograph Deferred Upon Defendants Motion in Limine to Preclude the use of NOAA Weather Records at Trial Denied

Submitted: August 14, 2018 Decided: October 4, 2018

Michael P. Minuti, Esquire and Timothy A. Dillon, Esquire, McCann & Wall, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware, Attorneys for Plaintiff.

Michael J. Logullo, Esquire, Rawle & Henderson, LLP, Wilmington, Delaware, and

Jeffrey L. Oster, Esquire, Rawle & Henderson, LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Attorneys for Defendants.

Clark, J.

On February 28, 2015, Betty Foreman (hereinafter “Ms. Foreman”) slipped and fell on a sidewalk at a Royal F arms convenience store owned and operated by Two Farms, Inc., and Moores Lake Shopping Center, LLC (hereinafter collectively “Royal Farms”). Ms. Foreman sues Royal Farms, claiming that it permitted snow and ice to remain on the sidewalk for an extended period of time which in turn caused her fall. She also claims that Royal Farms failed to warn her of the allegedly dangerous conditions.

Ms. Foreman seeks an adverse inference jury instruction at trial because Royal Farms did not retain a surveillance video showing her fall and the sidewalk’s condition. Royal Farms claims that an adverse inference instruction would be inappropriate because there is no evidence that it intentionally or recklessly destroyed the evidence. Additionally, Royal F arms asserts that Ms. Foreman’s fall was not captured by the video because the camera angle was obstructed. According to Royal Farms, the lost recording is therefore immaterial and irrelevant.

Royal F arms also filed three motions in limine: (l) to preclude references to the missing surveillance video; (2) to preclude photographs that Ms. Foreman allegedly took of the area of her fall on the day of the incident, or in the altemative, to also permit an adverse inference instruction because some of Ms. Foreman’s photographs were allegedly deleted; and (3) to preclude weather record evidence that Ms. Foreman seeks to introduce at trial.

For the reasons that follow, Ms. Foreman’s motion seeking a spoliation instruction is GRANTED. Royal Farms’ motions in limine to preclude references to the missing surveillance video and to preclude evidence of weather records are DENIED. Finally, Royal Farms’ motion to preclude Ms. Forman’s cell phone picture of the scene, or in the alternative to require a Spoliation instruction regarding pictures Ms. Foreman allegedly deleted from her cell phone, is DEFERRED until

trial.

I. Factual Background

Ms. Foreman slipped and fell at a Dover Royal F arms on February 28, 2015. A few days after Ms. Foreman’s fall, Michelle Russo (hereinafter Ms. Russo), a claims administrator for Royal Farms risk management department, viewed the video and the incident report. Ms. Russo testified in her deposition that she did not recall seeing Ms. Foreman fall on the video when she reviewed it because a pillar and a Red Box machine allegedly obstructed the camera’s view. After watching the surveillance video, Ms. Russo downloaded it and saved it on a CD and then placed the CD in a box. That CD was the only copy made of the surveillance video from the day of Ms. Foreman’s fall.

The incident report completed shortly after the incident confirms that a CD of the incident was “burned” and that “the incident range was located in the DVR.” Ms. Foreman’s counsel sent a certified letter to Royal Fanns on April 13, 2015, notifying Royal Farms of Ms. Foreman’s personal injury claims. That letter also requested that it preserve all evidence, including specifically video surveillance footage, from the date of Ms. Foreman’s fall. Namely, the evidence preservation letter provided:

[p]lease accept this letter as formal notice of claim. Please take all the necessary steps to preserve all written documents, e-mails, and physical evidence regarding Ms. Foreman’s fall, including but not limited to, video surveillance; incident reports; inspection logs and reports; statements; safety materials used, such as salt, sand or calcium; and any and all pictures of the scene.

After receiving the notice of claim and evidence preservation letter, Royal Farms acknowledged its receipt on May 14, 2015. The sole disc containing the video

footage was either lost or destroyed sometime in June 2015.1

1 Royal Farms’ counsel represented at oral argument that the video has been missing since June 2015.

On May 24, 2018, Defense counsel informed Ms. Foreman’s counsel that the video surveillance footage no longer existed. Then, on May 31, 2018, Ms. Foreman’s counsel deposed Ms. Russo. During her deposition, she testified that the video surveillance evidence had simply “disappeared.” She testified that the box containing the CD was placed on the top shelf in a storage room and that box, and at least seven other boxes, disappeared during a renovation of the office in the months afterwards. Ms. Russo could not give a specific date for when the boxes disappeared She testified that when she investigated what happened to the CD, no one told her that they had intentionally destroyed it.

One of Royal Farms’ motions in limine addresses alleged evidence tampering by Ms. Foreman. Namely, Ms. Foreman produced a single photograph allegedly showing the conditions of the area where she fell on the day she fell. She testified in her deposition that either she or someone on the scene used her cell phone to take multiple pictures of the site. Upon Royal Farms’ request, Ms. Foreman produced metadata that evidences the file containing the picture was created on March 26, 2015. Weather record data indicates that temperatures in Dover on March 26, 2015 ranged from between forty and sixty-seven degrees.

II. The Surveillance Video

Ms. Foreman initially filed a motion seeking default judgment as a sanction for Royal Farms’ loss of the surveillance video. In the altemative, she sought a spoliation instruction because it was destroyed. At oral argument, Ms. Foreman converted her motion to one requesting only the adverse inference instruction. Ms. Foreman alleges that Royal F arms intentionally or recklessly destroyed this allegedly highly relevant evidence. In response, Royal Farms has denied all wrongdoing. Royal Farms maintains that the loss of the video was accidental and

that there is no evidence that they intentionally or recklessly destroyed it or failed to

preserve it. On its own part, Royal Farms filed a motion in limine to preclude any references to the missing surveillance video at trial. The Delaware Supreme Court set forth Delaware’s standard for an adverse inference jury instruction in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Miclcap2 as follows: [a]n adverse inference instruction is appropriate where a litigant intentionally or recklessly destroys evidence, when it knows that the item in question is relevant to a legal dispute or it was otherwise under a legal duty to preserve the item. Before giving such an instruction, a trial judge must, therefore, make

a preliminary finding that the evidence shows such intentional or reckless conduct.3

The Supen`or Court has applied the Sears standard using two prongs.

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Foreman v. Two Farms, Inc., (Del. Ct. App. 2018).

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