Nowadays, security films are so commonly being used by landlords and businesses that many tort cases are “on film.” What the jury sees will clearly trump what they hear from witnesses. These films may become critical evidence unless they are accidentally or intentionally destroyed by the party possessing them.
When a party negligently or intentionally destroys key evidence, depriving a non-responsible party from being able to prove his claim, the responsible party may be sanctioned for the spoliation of evidence. If the non-responsible party is totally deprived of the opportunity to prove its case by the loss of the evidence or in some way impeded, sanctions may range from striking a pleading to a lesser sanction such as permitting a jury to draw a negative inference from the destruction of the evidence.
