Stevenson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

354 F.3d 739 (8TH Cir. 2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D's train struck the Stevensons' (P) vehicle as it crossed the tracks. Mrs. Stevenson (P) died as a result of the collision, and P suffered severe injuries and has no memory of the accident. Ps sued D for negligence. Ps filed a motion for sanctions on the ground that D had destroyed evidence (a voice tape of conversations between the train crew and dispatch at the time of the accident and track maintenance records from before the accident). D argued that it destroyed the documents in good faith pursuant to its routine document retention policies. The district court imposed sanctions of an adverse inference instruction regarding the destroyed evidence and an award of costs and attorneys' fees incurred as a result of the spoliation of evidence. The court granted Ps' motion to prohibit D from calling witnesses to explain that it destroyed the tape and track maintenance records pursuant to its routine document retention policies. The jury awarded $2,000,000 in damages and the estate $10,000 for funeral and ambulance expenses. The district court entered judgment and also awarded Ps $164,410.25 in costs and attorneys' fees on the sanctions order. D appealed.