Williams v. First Student, Inc., 2024 WL 1132237, No. 20-cv-1176 (CPO) (SAK) (D. N.J. Mar. 15, 2024)
The plaintiffs’ sought to obtain a preclusion of expert evidence and adverse inference at trial for failure to maintain video after an infant plaintiff disembarked one school bus and was struck by another company’s school bus, causing serious injury. The defendant-bus company provided testimonial evidence that they attempted to retrieve video, but that there was a malfunction and no video was ever created. The plaintiffs attempted to argue that certain codes on the hard drive indicated items were altered or moved and referenced a code describing the “Recycle Bin.” The defendant’s expert noted that this was actually an error code. The court ruled the plaintiffs had not met their burden to establish spoliation.
