Opinion ID: 157349
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dismissal of Fraudulent Creation of Evidence Claim

Text: 29 With regard to the alleged fraudulent creation of evidence, Ms. Coletti argues the trial court had a duty to apply the law of the jurisdiction, and in the event the state law question was unsettled, it should have either predicted what the state's highest court would decide or certify the question to the state's highest court. On this point, she is correct. Since the case before the trial court was a diversity action, Wyoming law governs the issues. Accordingly, the trial court had an obligation to apply Wyoming law or, if Wyoming law is silent, rule as it believed the Wyoming Supreme Court would rule. Fields v. Farmers Ins. Co., 18 F.3d 831, 834 (10th Cir.1994). 7 30 The trial court stated as justification for dismissing Ms. Coletti's fraudulent creation of evidence claim against Cudd: 31 It is not the business of a federal judge to establish the law or precedent of a jurisdiction.... 32 Having found no case law, no statute in this jurisdiction that would recognize a tortious creation of fraudulent documents claim, the Court declines to allow one in this case and will dismiss this claim. 33 Although the court made an unfortunate choice of words that insufficiently articulated its duty to predict state law in unsettled areas, we nevertheless find a fair reading of the trial court's ruling, within the context of the entire record, reveals a careful consideration of Wyoming law and an implied determination that the Wyoming Supreme Court has not, and would not, recognize a previously nonexistent fraudulent creation of evidence cause of action. 34 Our own independent examination of Wyoming law also reveals no legal basis to support either a spoliation of evidence claim or Ms. Coletti's creative new claim for fraudulent creation of evidence. Rather than recognize an independent tort claim for fraudulent creation of evidence (or spoliation of evidence), Wyoming law allows courts to draw an adverse inference against a party responsible for losing or destroying evidence. See Kieffer v. Weston Land, Inc., 90 F.3d 1496, 1500 (10th Cir.1996) (approving the Wyoming district court's ruling that plaintiff could admit evidence of defendant's tampering with key evidence, and that jury could accept or reject defendant's explanation); cf., Aramburu v. Boeing Co., 112 F.3d 1398, 1407 (10th Cir.1997) (finding no precedent for the evidentiary doctrine of spoliation and ruling that bad faith destruction of a relevant document gives rise only to an inference that production of the evidence would have been unfavorable to the party responsible for the destruction). Ms. Coletti could have shown Cudd dealt improperly with evidence for the purpose of drawing a negative inference, but not to prove an independent cause of action. Accordingly, we find no error in the trial court's decision to dismiss the fraudulent creation of evidence claim. 35