Title: Tampering with evidence - Wikipedia
Headings: Tampering with evidence
Tampering with evidence
Contents
Spoliation
Theory
Brookshire Brothers Ltd. v. Aldridge
By law enforcement
See also
References
Further reading

Content: Some jurisdictions have recognized a spoliation tort action, which allows the victim of destruction of evidence to file a separate tort action against a spoliator. While spoliation of evidence most often shows up in civil cases with allegations that the defendant allowed videos, photos or physical evidence to be destroyed, spoliation is also an issue where a person claims he has been injured by a defective product which he then discarded or lost. In that circumstance, the defendant manufacturer or distributor may move to dismiss the case on the basis of spoliation (instead of just having to rely on the plaintiff's usual burden of proof, the argument being that any testimony of plaintiff's witnesses would not overcome the spoliation inference born of the lost evidentiary value of the missing product itself). Finally, some states have case law or code sections allowing parties to recover civil damages for the act of spoliation itself. Some states only allow it against third parties, where an insurance company allows a car involved in litigation to be crushed for example. Each state handles the issue in their own manner and case law is constantly evolving. Brookshire Brothers Ltd. v. Aldridge
The use of a spoliation inference may be warranted depending on the circumstances, but not all cases of spoliation warrant this serious response by the court. In a 2013 case before the Texas Supreme Court named Brookshire Brothers Ltd. v. Aldridge, A man named Jerry Aldridge went into one of Brookshire Brothers' supermarkets, and after a few minutes in the store, slipped and fell. He went to a doctor approximately 90 minutes later, and returned to the store five days after the accident to complain of back injuries caused by the fall. The supermarket chain's security department only kept what it felt was the relevant part of that store's surveillance video consisting of just before to a few minutes after Mr. Aldridge slipped and fell.