Marshall v. Dentfirst P.C.

313 F.R.D. 691, 2016 WL 1222270, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38832
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 24, 2016
Docket1:14-cv-2421-WSD
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 313 F.R.D. 691 (Marshall v. Dentfirst P.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marshall v. Dentfirst P.C., 313 F.R.D. 691, 2016 WL 1222270, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38832 (N.D. Ga. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

WILLIAM S. DUFFEY, JR., UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on Kendra Marshall’s (“Plaintiff’) Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative for Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence [19] (“Motion”).

I. BACKGROUND

From October 20, 1992, to October 19, 2011, Plaintiff was employed by DentFirst, P.C. (“Defendant” or “DentFirst”) in various positions, most recently as a Practice Administrator. (Compl. [1] 7, 11). When Defendant terminated Plaintiffs employment on October 19, 2011, it indicated, on a form used in connection with obtaining unemployment benefits, that Plaintiffs termination was due to “Lay off — Reduction in workforce.” (Id. 11).

On April 13, 2012, Plaintiff filed her Charge of Discrimination (“EEOC Charge”) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). (Id. ¶ 6; Pi’s Mot. at Ex. 4). Plaintiff alleges that DentFirst terminated her employment because of her age, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.

On May 4, 2012, the EEOC notified Defendant of Plaintiffs EEOC Charge. (Pi’s Mot. at Ex. 10). On June 15, 2012, Defendant responded to Plaintiffs EEOC Charge, asserting, among others, that Plaintiff was terminated because she “always shopped online” and “was not properly managing collections and Pre-treatment estimate reports.” (Id. at Ex. 2). On May 6, 2014, Plaintiff received a notice of right to sue from the EEOC. (Compl. ¶ 6).

On July 28, 2014, Plaintiff filed her Complaint, asserting six (6) claims based on violation of the ADEA.1 Plaintiff contends that Defendant’s proffered reasons for terminab[694]*694ing Plaintiff — first, “reduction in workforce,” and, in response to the EEOC Charge, Plaintiffs unsatisfactory performance — are pretext for age discrimination.

On October 15, 2014, Plaintiff served her First Interrogatories and First Requests for Production, which request, among others, documents, information and records related to Plaintiffs management of pretreatment estimate reports (“pretreatments”)2 and her internet browsing history. Plaintiff contends that Defendant failed to disclose any pretreatments or requested computer records.

On August 28, 2015, Plaintiff filed her Motion. Plaintiff seeks sanctions against Defendant based on its alleged failure to preserve (1) the pretreatments Defendant claims Plaintiff mismanaged, and (2) information that would have been stored on the computer Plaintiff used while employed at DentFirst, including evidence of Plaintiffs online browsing history and emails she sent and received, which, Plaintiff claims, relates to whether Plaintiff was “always shopping online.” Plaintiff contends that, because the pretreatments, online browsing history and emails are the only direct evidence that would either fully refute or confirm Defendant’s specific allegations regarding its reasons for terminating Plaintiff, the Court should strike Defendant’s Answer as a sanction for its alleged spoliation.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard

“Spoliation is the destruction or significant alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another’s use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation.” Graff v. Baja Marine Corp., 310 Fed.Appx. 298, 301 (11th Cir.2009) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting West v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 167 F.3d 776, 779 (2d Cir.1999)). A party seeking spoliation sanctions must prove that (1) the missing evidence existed at one time; (2) the defendant had a duty to preserve the evidence; and (3) the evidence was crucial to the plaintiffs prima facie case. See In re Delta/AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litig.,770 F.Supp.2d 1299, 1305 (N.D.Ga.2011). In considering the particular spoliation sanction to impose, “courts should consider the following factors: (1) prejudice to the non-spoiling party as a result of the destruction of evidence, (2) whether the prejudice can be cured, (3) practical importance of the evidence, (4) whether the spoiling party acted in good or bad faith, and (5) the potential for abuse of expert testimony about evidence not excluded.” Id. (citing Flury v. Daimler Chrysler Corp., 427 F.3d 939, 945 (11th Cir.2005)).

Even if the Court finds spoliation, a sanction of default or an instruction to the jury to draw an adverse inference from the party’s failure to preserve evidence is allowed “only when the absence of that evidence is predicated on bad faith.” Bashir v. Amtrak, 119 F.3d 929, 931 (11th Cir.1997). A showing of bad faith requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that a “party purposely loses or destroys relevant evidence.” Id. Mere negligence in destroying evidence is not sufficient to justify striking an answer. See Mann v. Taser Int’l, Inc., 588 F.3d 1291, 1310 (11th Cir.2009). In determining whether to impose sanctions for spoliation, “[t]he court should weigh the degree of the spoliator’s culpability against the prejudice to the opposing party.” Flury, 427 F.3d at 946.

Effective December 1, 2015, Rule 37(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was amended to establish the findings necessary to support certain curative measures for failure to preserve electronically stored information.3 This amendment “forecloses reliance on inherent authority or state law to determine when certain measures should be used” to address spoliation of electronically stored information. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e), Adviso[695]*695ry Committee Note to 2015 Amendment. Amended Rule 37(e) provides:

Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information. If electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the anticipation or conduct of litigation is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve it, and it cannot be restored or replaced through additional discovery, the court:
(1) upon finding prejudice to another party from loss of the information, may order measures no greater than necessary to cure the prejudice; or
(2) only upon finding that the party acted with the intent to deprive another party of the information’s use in the litigation may:
(A) presume that the lost information was unfavorable to the party;
(B) instruct the jury that it may or must presume the information was unfavorable to the party; or
(C) dismiss the action or enter a default judgment.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e). This version of Rule 37(e) applies to civil cases commenced after December 1, 2015, “and, insofar as just and practicable, all proceedings then pending.” See 2015 US Order 0017; 28 U.S.C.

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Bluebook (online)
313 F.R.D. 691, 2016 WL 1222270, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marshall-v-dentfirst-pc-gand-2016.