Rajesh Idnani et al. v. Venus Capital Management, Inc. et al.1, 29 Mass. L. Rep. 473

Summary

The trial court allowed the motion and awarded plaintiffs attorney's fees and other relief. Defendant's chief executive officer (CEO), while aware of his duty to preserve records, wilfully discarded thousands of documents that were responsive to plaintiffs' pending Rule 34 requests. His explanation that it was part of a routine cleanup was not credible. The discarded documents might have included handwriting or notes that were not maintained in electronic form. The CEO's conduct suggested that he had something to hide. Credit card statements, vendor invoices, and screen shots of the account statements had been or would be produced. Plaintiffs already had substantial evidence that defendants intentionally closed down one hedge fund and opened another using the identical investment strategy in order to cheat plaintiffs out of the fees they had won in the arbitration. The material that was destroyed would not appear to go to the heart of plaintiffs' case. However, the CEO's conduct was ...