You are here: / / DEFENDANTS DESTROYED SPEADSHEETS WHICH MAY HAVE DEMONSTRATED PLAINTIFF’S...
, , , ,

DEFENDANTS DESTROYED SPEADSHEETS WHICH MAY HAVE DEMONSTRATED PLAINTIFF’S TERMINATION WAS NOT MOTIVATED BY THE NEED TO CUT COSTS; PLANTIFF IN THIS EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION ACTION WAS ENTITLED TO AN ADVERSE INFERENCE JURY CHARGE (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined defendants in this employment discrimination action should have been sanctioned for spoliation of evidence. The defendants destroyed retail store spreadsheets which could have demonstrated plaintiff’s termination was not motivated by the need to cut costs. Plaintiff alleged he was terminated because he aided Egyptian employees who complained on national origin or religious discrimination. The First Department held plaintiff was entitled to an adverse inference jury charge:

… [T]he court erred in denying spoliation sanctions. Defendants breached their duty to preserve evidence by destroying retail store spreadsheets which were the only contemporaneous data on profits, payroll, and performance after litigation was reasonably anticipated … . Plaintiff’s October 2017 warning against tampering with accounting and payroll records triggered a preservation obligation that required defendants to suspend routine destruction policies … . Defendants cannot claim the records were deleted in the ordinary course of business, as a routine retention policy is no defense once the duty to preserve attaches … . Further, sanctions are warranted where a party’s negligence or intent deprives an opponent of the means of proving their claim … . Here, the destroyed spreadsheets are central to the issue of pretext. While defendants claim cost-based downsizing as the reason for termination, the destroyed data was the only evidence available to test whether the stores were actually underperforming or if plaintiff’s termination was retaliatory. Because this unique, irrecoverable evidence was within defendants’ exclusive control, its destruction is highly prejudicial. Accordingly, plaintiff should be granted an adverse inference charge at the time of trial. Pescales v Pax Ventures LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op 02942, First Dept 5-12-26

Practice Point: Defendants in this employment discrimination action were sanctioned for destroying financial records which could have demonstrated plaintiff’s termination was not motivated by the need to cut costs.

 

You might also like
THE IDENTITIES OF THE SUBJECTS OF TWO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES LINKING TALCUM-POWDER PRODUCTS WITH MESOTHELIOMA SHOULD BE RELEASED; THE INFORMATION IS NOT PROTECTED BY HIPAA OR THE FEDERAL COMMON RULE; PRODUCTION OF THE INFORMATION WOULD NOT BE UNDULY BURDENSOME AND WOULD NOT DETER FUTURE RESEARCH (FIRST DEPT).
THE AFFIDAVIT WHICH PURPORTED TO DEMONSTRATE PLAINTIFF HAD STANDING TO BRING THE FORECLOSURE ACTION REFERRED TO UNIDENTIFIED AND UNPRODUCED RECORDS AND THEREFORE LACKED ANY PROBATIVE VALUE (FIRST DEPT).
FAMILY COURT LOST SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION AFTER THE NEGLECT PETITION WAS DISMISSED; THEREFORE THE COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE CONTINUED THE CHILD’S PLACEMENT IN FOSTER CARE (FIRST DEPT).
Plaintiffs, Who Provided Management Services to a Club Described in the Media as “Run by the Mafia,” Did Not Raise a Question of Fact About Whether the Remark Was “Of and Concerning” the Plaintiffs by “Innuendo”
OHIO TRUSTEE’S REQUEST FOR PAYMENT PURSUANT TO A ROYALTY AGREEMENT WITH THE NEW YORK PLAINTIFF DID NOT CONFER JURISDICTION UPON NEW YORK, DESPITE A NEW YORK CHOICE OF LAW PROVISION (FIRST DEPT).
LESSOR OF THE VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THE REAR-END COLLISION WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT PURSUANT TO THE GRAVES AMENDMENT; SUPREME COURT HAD THE AUTHORITY TO SEARCH THE RECORD AND GRANT SUMMARY JUDGMENT EVEN THOUGH NO MOTION HAD BEEN MADE (FIRST DEPT).
NONSIGNATORY WHICH RECEIVED A DIRECT BENEFIT FROM AN AGREEMENT WITH AN ARBITRATION PROVISION IS SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION (FIRST DEPT).
THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY PRECLUDED DEFENDANTS FROM CALLING PLAINTIFF’S TREATING PHYSICIANS AS WITNESSES IN THIS POLICE EXCESSIVE FORCE CASE BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE NOTICE AND THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY ACCEPTED PLAINTIFF’S REDACTIONS OF THE MEDICAL RECORDS BECAUSE DEFENDANTS FAILED TO SUGGEST THEIR OWN REDACTIONS (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT IN THIS REAR-END COLLISION CASE DID NOT PLEAD THE EMERGENCY... TENANTS AND THE PROPERTY MANAGER COULD BE LIABLE FOR INJURY CAUSED BY FURNITURE...