Silvestri v. General Motors Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
271 F.3d 583 (4th Cir. 2001)
Relevant factsFree
Silvestri (plaintiff), injured while driving his landlady's car intoxicated and at high speed, blamed his injuries on the airbag's failure to deploy, but neither he nor his attorney notified General Motors (defendant) or took steps to preserve the vehicle for three years after the accident, even though the car remained accessible and Silvestri allowed his own retained investigators to examine it during that time; the district court dismissed his complaint for spoliation of evidence.
IssueFree
Whether a party is responsible for spoliation of evidence if he fails to give the opposing party notice and an opportunity to inspect the evidence before its destruction.