THE TRIAL JUDGE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THE ADVERSE INFERENCE CHARGE WHICH HAD BEEN ORDERED AS A DISCOVERY SANCTION RE: A MISSING SURVEILLANCE TAPE; JURY VERDICT SET ASIDE (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court and setting aside the verdict, determined the trial judge should have given the adverse inference charge with respect to a missing video surveillance tape:
… [T]he court erred in declining to give an adverse inference charge with respect to a missing video surveillance tape. An order stating that plaintiff was entitled to such a charge had been issued during discovery upon plaintiff’s motion for sanctions pursuant to CPLR 3126. Thus, the adverse inference charge was a discovery sanction, not a prospective evidentiary ruling … . While the verdict is supported by sufficient evidence, that error was not harmless. Hegbeli v TJX Cos., Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 00502, First Dept 1-27-22