Evidence - Law of Spoliation - Destruction of Evidence - Injury Matters

Injury - Accident Lawyers : Spoliation: The law of evidence is complex. One little know evidentiary principle is the legal doctrine of spoliation (it is a rule of evidence). Spoliation is the intentional destruction of evidence to affect existing or anticipated litigation. The main remedy for spoliation is the imposition of the rebuttable presumption of fact that the loss or destroyed evidence would not assist the spoliator. Intentional destruction of evidence is not an intentional tort, nor is there any duty to preserve evidence for the purposes of the law of negligence. Spoliation, as it stands now, is a evidentiary principle and not an independent tort, although the law is evolving and the Supreme Court of Canada may be set to address this issue in a recent Alberta Court of Appeal case which has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Marc-Nicholas Quinn, Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, Ottawa Accident - Disability Law Firm. 613-563-1131.