spoliation
- noun
- /ˌspoʊliˈeɪʃən/
- Formal
:
espoliación
- The court ruled that the defendant's destruction of emails constituted spoliation of evidence.
Examples
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Parties who fail to adhere to agreements or preservation orders from the court may be subject to sanctions for spoliation of evidence that include adverse inferences to a jury, criminal charges against parties, and professional sanctions against attorneys.
Academic text (2007) -
Property and fear, damage or loss could give rise to sanctions for evidence spoliation; help—or at least protection—may be on the way.
Academic text (2011) -
However, Tolson's corporate clients were not as quick to dismiss the need for spoliation coverage.
Academic text (2011) -
In December, Lexington Insurance Co. announced plans to offer extended policies to guard against spoliation tort claims against clients that are often entrusted with property that can affect the outcome of a court case.
Academic text (2011) -
Additionally, the risk of spoliation and the threat of sanctions goes way down because you can confidently assert that you have searched all of the potentially relevant data in your possession, custody, or control.
Blog text (12) -
A Duke University study found 97 e-discovery sanction cases in 2009, more than any prior year. Holderman thinks spoliation problems in e-discovery will level off.
Academic text (2011) -
Nine states currently recognize spoliation tort claims for the destruction of or failure to preserve evidence that is necessary to litigation, which O'Reilly says was the catalyst that prompted one policyholder to request the extended coverage.
Academic text (2011) -
On July 24, 2012, Samsung was sanctioned for not taking adequate steps to avoid spoliation, making it the second time in less than 10 years that Samsung has been sanctioned for not turning off the auto-deletion switch on its proprietary email system.
Blog text (9) -
Offering detailed records to the court will help avoid charges of spoliation—the destruction of discoverable documents—and give the court an accurate picture of what is discoverable.
Academic text (2002) -
Failure to preserve key documents can lead to allegations of spoliation in legal proceedings.
Synonyms
1
7.4
Damage to the surface or appearance of something, often done on purpose
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word spoliation comes from the Latin verb spoliare, meaning 'to take by force' or 'to strip', and it shares the same root as the common word spoil. In law, spoliation means destroying or hiding evidence so it is ruined and cannot be used, so the origin helps: it is like 'spoiling' the proof.