Attorney Article
Georgia Defense Lawyer Publishes Stewart’s Article on Litigating an Allegation of Spoliation of Evidence
Georgia Defense Lawyer
Jason Stewart (Of Counsel-Atlanta, GA) authored “Litigating an Allegation of Spoliation of Evidence,” a scholarly article that appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Georgia Defense Lawyer. According to Jason, sanctions for spoliation in Georgia can result in the removal of evidence and issues from a jury’s consideration, and civil litigators understand how these sanctions can drastically transform a case. From a defensive perspective, spoliation sanctions against a defendant can change a defendable case into a case with adverse liability and increased financial exposure. In this article, Jason walks the reader through Georgia law for analyzing a spoliation of evidence issue. The article makes clear that even if a party destroyed evidence, a trial court must analyze and weigh certain factors to determine whether spoliation sanctions are appropriate, and, if a trial court determines that such sanctions are appropriate, the court should tailor the sanctions to the facts of the underlying case in a manner that is fair and just.