Plaintiff's Car Destroyed By Insurance Company After Accident

The following blog entry is written to illustrate a common motion filed during civil litigation. Reviewing this kind of filing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this car accident lawsuit and its proceedings.)

In Galanek, the court reiterated a maxim of jurisprudence that is apropos here: A fundamental principal of our legal system is that “no one can take advantage of his own wrong,” citing Civil Code section 3517. Galanek v. Wismar at 1428. Similarly here, XYZ, Ins. Co., cannot be allowed a procedural advantage on liability due to its destruction of critical evidence.

Unlike the cases of inadvertence above, here XYZ, Ins. Co., did not lose or misplace evidence – it consciously destroyed it, knowing that this was a serious injury claim and that litigation was likely to follow. Further, XYZ, Ins. Co. misrepresented to plaintiff’s counsel that the Brown vehicle had never been inspected by their experts, when in fact such an inspection had taken place weeks before. And moreover, XYZ, Ins. Co. was placed on written notice within six weeks from the date of this accident that plaintiff demanded that the Brown vehicle be preserved for inspection by experts. As the law makes clear: [T]he court has broad powers … to make whatever just orders are necessary to remedy the spoliation. Cedars-Sinai, supra, 18 Cal.4th at 8 (emphasis added). This court should exercise those powers and grant the relief sought so that Ms. Black is not severely prejudiced from recovering the full measure of her damages from defendants for her severe injuries.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

CONCLUSION

Based upon the facts stated above, the legal points and authorities cited, and the attached declaration of plaintiff’s counsel, it is respectfully requested that the court issue an order in limine to preclude the defense from calling any accident reconstruction experts.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.