In a trademark infringement case pending in the Northern District of California (InternMatch v. Nxtbigthing, 2016 WL 491483 [N.D. Cal. Feb. 8, 2016]), plaintiff requested copies of any documents relating to the defendants’ defense that it had continually and pervasively used the trademark at issue.   The defendants were not able to produce many responsive documents and advised plaintiff that a lightning strike in 2011 and a subsequent power surge in April 2015, destroyed responsive documents, including relevant corporate records.  Defendants further noted that after the power surge, they discarded certain laptops and hard drives that were damaged by the event.

Believing defendants intentionally destroyed electronic versions of responsive documents, plaintiff sought sanctions against defendants.  The Court, following the newly amended FRCP 37(e), found defendants violated their duty to preserve relevant evidence.  The Court specifically noted that defendants failed to run diagnostics on the destroyed computer following the power surge to assess whether the files on the laptop’s hard drive could be recovered prior to discarding it.  Defendants failed to take any recovery efforts despite their claim that the only electronic copies of the marketing materials allegedly establishing “previous use” of the trademark existed on that computer. The Court also found the power surge to be an implausible claim. The Court held that “at the very least, [the] defendants consciously disregarded their obligations to preserve relevant evidence,” and granted the plaintiff’s request for an adverse inference instruction sanction.

This case reminds us that under the new Rule 37(e), courts are authorized to use specific measures, including adverse inference sanctions, if relevant information that should have been preserved is lost – irrespective of the mechanism that caused the loss. The decision also serves as a good reminder that electronic information is susceptible to destruction and modifications based upon uncontrollable events — like power surges — and we remain obligated to take prompt preservative/remedial measures upon learning of such events.