Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Appellant-Defendant, v. Aqua Environmental Container Corp. and Joki Leasing, LLC, Appellees-Plaintiffs., 102 N.E.3d 290

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-Where a warehouse owner and its lessee sued a public service company, alleging that it negligently supplied electrical power to the warehouse, resulting in severe power fluctuations that caused a fire in the area of the ceiling-mounted furnace, and where during discovery, it was determined that the lessee preserved some, but not all, of the ceiling-mounted furnace equipment, the lessee had a duty to preserve the furnace in its entirety; [2]-The duty arose at or near the time of the fire when the fire chief told the lessee that he suspected that the fire originated in the furnace area and that the lessee needed to preserve it because, at that time, the plaintiffs knew or should have known that litigation was possible, if not probable; [2]-As the lessee negligently spoliated relevant evidence, remand was required to determine the appropriate sanction.