Chapter 9-19 Spoliation of Evidence

• Jurisdiction: United States

9-19 Spoliation of Evidence

9-19:1 Overview

Spoliation of Evidence occurs when a party to a lawsuit has a duty to preserve evidence, culpably destroys or alters the evidence, and such destruction or alteration prejudices the non-spoliating party.⁹² When the non-spoliating party establishes that spoliation has occurred, he may request an evidentiary sanction appropriate for the circumstances.⁹³

MUST READ CASES

Brookshire Bros., Ltd. v. Aldridge, 438 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. 2014)

Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950 (Tex. 1998)

9-19:2 Expressly Rejected in Texas

The Supreme Court has expressly rejected an independent cause of action for spoliation of evidence.⁹⁴ The Court's rejected an independent cause of action based upon the speculative nature of damages, the ability of litigants to rectify the spoliation within the underlying lawsuit, and an analogy to the Court's rejection of independent causes of action for perjury and embracery.⁹⁵

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Notes:

^[92] Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950, 954-55 (Tex. 1998) (Baker, J., Concurring).

^[93] Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950, 959 (Tex. 1998) (Baker, J., Concurring).

^[94] Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950, 952 (Tex. 1998). See also Brookshire Bros, Ltd. v. Aldridge, 438 S.W.3d 9, 19 (Tex. 2014) ("In Texas, spoliation is an evidentiary concept rather than a separate cause of action.").

^[95] Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950, 952-53 (Tex. 1998).