Court Sanctions Defendant for E-Mail Preservation Failure
Although not involving a civil RICO claim, the court in Connor v. Sun Trust Bank, 2008 WL 623027 (N.D.Ga. Mar. 5, 2008) sanctioned the defendant for failing to produce an email. Emails are often important evidence in civil RICO cases. So this decision is noteworthy. In the Connor case the plaintiff alleged interference and retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The plaintiff filed a motion for sanctions based on the defendant’s failure to produce a highly relevant email during discovery. The plaintiff located, through other means, a relevant email that explained her dismissal to other employees. The defendant moved for summary judgment relying on their 30-day email destruction policy which automatically deleted emails that were thirty days old, unless they were first archived by the user. The court, unpersuaded by the defendant’s reasoning, granted the plaintiff’s motion for sanctions and issued an adverse jury instruction.
