Plaintiff's motion for sanctions was granted to the extent of imposing an adverse inference charge. Defendants had an obligation to preserve the pre-accident audio recordings because the Police Department's nternal report and plaintiff's notice of claim, which attached the public police accident report, put defendants on notice that they would likely assert an emergency operation defense. Therefore, pre-accident audio communication between the dispatcher and the police vehicle or officers involved in the accident should have been preserved in case it was needed for future litigation.
Sanchez v. City of New York, NY Slip Op 01970 (1st Dep't March 19, 2020)
Here is the decision.
