Case Name: William Austin et al., Respondents, v. Coin Devices Corp. et al., Appellants
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1996-12-17
Citations: 234 A.D.2d 155
Docket Number: 
Parties: William Austin et al., Respondents, v Coin Devices Corp. et al., Appellants.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 234
Pages: 155–156

Head Matter:
William Austin et al., Respondents, v Coin Devices Corp. et al., Appellants.
[651 NYS2d 33]

Opinion:
—Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Alan Saks, J.), entered May 29, 1996, which granted plaintiffs' motion pursuant to CPLR 3126 to strike defendant's answer, unanimously affirmed, with costs.
Defendants' failure to advise the court and plaintiffs any time prior to the motion to strike of the routine destruction of documents they had been ordered to produce, or to proffer any excuse for their failure to comply with the court-ordered discovery, indicates willful, contumacious and evasive conduct with respect to plaintiffs' discovery rights (Anteri v NRS Constr. Corp., 117 AD2d 696, 698). This was aggravated by the cir cumstances that the documents were still extant when first demanded by plaintiff (Sawh v Bridges, 120 AD2d 74, 79, appeal dismissed 69 NY2d 852), and that defendants' delay in producing an employee eyewitness resulted in the latter's unavailability (Oberlander v Levi, 207 AD2d 437). We have considered defendants' remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Concur—Rosenberger, J. P., Ellerin, Wallach, Tom and Mazzarelli, JJ.