Spoliation of evidence; Brenner v Kolk; Ward v Consolidated Rail Corp; Materiality; Whether the litigation was reasonably foreseeable; Proportionality of sanctions; Negligence; Breach of duty; Wrongful death; MCL 600.2922; A vehicle operator’s statutory duty to determine whether a turn can be made safely; MCL 257.648; Duty to act with ordinary & reasonable care & caution when operating a vehicle; Vehicle owner liability; MCL 257.401

The court held that the trial court abused its discretion in sanctioning defendant-NSS Construction for spoliation of evidence. It further concluded NSS was entitled to summary disposition because no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the fatal collision giving rise to this case “resulted from a breach of any duty owed by NSS to” plaintiff-estate’s decedent. The collision involved the decedent’s car and a dump truck owned by NSS and driven by defendant-Neal. As to the trial court’s rulings on spoliation of evidence, the court agreed with NSS that “its failure to preserve the dump truck, the dump truck’s service records, and Neal’s employment records did not result in spoliation because the evidence was not material to plaintiff’s lawsuit.” The court found that the trial court failed to “evaluate on the record the materiality of the evidence requested and the record does not support a finding of materiality. When lost or destroyed evidence is immaterial, sanctioning the party at fault is inappropriate.” The court also determined that the sanctions the trial court imposed “were excessive.” They included striking NSS’s affirmative defenses and barring it from introducing any mitigating evidence as to its “business practices, employment practices, vehicle maintenance practices, and safety practices[.]” The court found they “would have effectively put an end to the lawsuit in plaintiff’s favor.” As to the denial of NSS’s summary disposition motion, the court concluded there was no evidence Neal failed to signal his right turn or otherwise failed “to operate the dump truck with ordinary and reasonable care and caution, and no evidence that the truck’s turn signal was not operating properly before the collision, or that a malfunction of the truck’s brakes contributed in some way to the collision. Because plaintiff alleged no facts that would establish a breach of duty by either Neal or NSS, or any wrongful act by Neal that caused the collision, plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim of negligence or wrongful death.” The court vacated the trial court’s orders as to NSS’s alleged spoliation of evidence and denying NSS’s summary disposition motion, affirmed the order denying NSS’s motion as to plaintiff’s alleged spoliation of the decedent’s car, and remanded for entry of summary disposition for NSS.