Opinion ID: 2452537
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: issue 1: contract, assumption of duty, or special relationship?

Text: The principle underlying each of the out-of-state cases and Koplin is that there is no common-law duty to preserve evidence. Consequently, the duty must arise because of an independent tort, which we will discuss later, or because of a contract, agreement, voluntary assumption of duty, or special relationship of the parties. Koplin, 241 Kan. at 215, 734 P.2d 1177. (Some states have expanded this list to include a duty based on a statute or regulation that imposes a duty to preserve documents or materials. See, e.g., Village of Roselle v. Comm. Edison Co., 368 Ill.App.3d 1097, 1113, 307 Ill.Dec. 1, 859 N.E.2d 1 [2006]. Apparently because of this, the district court included statutory duties in its analysis, but this circumstance is not argued on appeal.) Superior's first argument focuses on the list of circumstances in which Koplin held a duty would arise; Superior suggests each circumstance is applicable. Starting with whether there is a contract or an agreement, although Superior does not counter the district court's finding that there was not an explicit contract or agreement, it suggests there was an implied agreement. Superior's argument about the existence of an implied agreement is essentially the same argument it asserts to suggest that FK Company, through Stuerman, voluntarily assumed a duty to preserve the records when Stuerman researched records of sales and orders and provided the information to Superior in 2002. But Superior cites no authority to support these arguments. Additionally, from a factual perspective, voluntarily researching records of sales and orders and providing a summary of the information is different from either implicitly agreeing or actively undertaking to preserve records, especially for a period of 5 years after the research was performed. Without evidence of an agreement or an actual undertaking to preserve the records, Superior's argument fails. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 324A (1964) (duty may arise when one undertakes to render services, whether gratuitously or for consideration); see Sall v. T's, Inc., 281 Kan. 1355, 1364, 136 P.3d 471 (2006) (`A defendant's agreement or affirmative act indicating a willingness to provide services is a threshold requirement for such a duty to arise.' [Citation omitted.]); Hauptman v. WMC, Inc., 43 Kan.App.2d 276, 301-02, 224 P.3d 1175 (2010) (stating that hospital did not, through affirmative action, assume obligation or intend to render services for benefit of employees of air ambulance service, precluding recovery under a negligent undertaking theory). There is no evidence of an undertaking by any of the Defendants to preserve the records. This leaves one final category, besides the recognition of an independent tort, from the Koplin list of potential sources of a duty, i.e., the existence of a special relationship between the parties. Arguing this category applies, Superior suggests a special relationship was formed because (1) the Defendants and Superior were a part of the same chain of product distribution and (2) the Defendants knew Superior was involved in pending asbestos litigation and that the Defendants could potentially become involved in asbestos litigation. Koplin did not provide a definition of the term special relationship. In other contexts, this court has stated that a special relationship may arise between a parent and child, master and servant, persons in charge of one with dangerous propensities, or persons with custody of another. Adams v. Board of Sedgwick County Comm'rs, 289 Kan. 577, Syl. ¶ 6, 214 P.3d 1173 (2009). In addition, Kansas pattern jury instructions contain a section entitled Special Relationships of Parties, which identifies and addresses several categories such as agency relationships, partnerships, employer-employee relationships, independent contractors, joint ventures, fellow servants, and duties arising out of the assumption of risk. PIK Civ. 4th 107.00. None of these relationships exists between Superior and the Defendants. Further, we know that all of these relationships are not a per se basis for creating a duty to preserve evidence because the employer-employee relationship, which arguably is most like the commercial relationship between Superior and the Defendants, did not create a duty to preserve evidence in Koplin, 241 Kan. at 213, 734 P.2d 1177. Moreover, none of these sources explicitly or implicitly support Superior's argument that an arms' length commercial relationship or chain-of-product-distribution relationship is a special relationship. Superior does not cite any other authority specifically supporting the conclusion that a chain-of-product-distribution relationship is sufficient to create a duty to preserve evidence. In fact, it concedes it can find no such case. Without persuasive or controlling authority suggesting a chain-of-product-distribution relationship gives rise to a duty, we have considered the various policy reasons cited by the Koplin court for rejecting the tort in a third-party setting and have concluded each of those reasons, except interference with workers compensation laws, counters Superior's argument. Specifically, (1) endless litigation would be generated; (2) rank speculation would be required as to (a) whether the evidence would have affected the underlying action, (b) whether the complaining party would have prevailed, and (c) the amount of damages that would have been recovered; (3) the scope of the duty would be limitless; and (4) there would be an unwarranted intrusion on the property rights of a person who lawfully disposes of his or her own property. See Koplin, 241 Kan. at 215, 734 P.2d 1177. As to this last reason, if we were to recognize a duty to preserve evidence by all those who stand at a point in the stream of commerce, the duty would extend to those upstream as well as those downstream. The result would be a far-reaching duty, and one of the factors weighed by the Koplin court would be extremely relevant: A rule requiring preservation of evidence would create an intolerable burden of requiring most businesses to preserve all records. See Koplin, 241 Kan. at 212, 734 P.2d 1177. As the Koplin court noted, such a duty would be limitless. Koplin, 241 Kan. at 215, 734 P.2d 1177. These reasons cause us to conclude that simply being in the chain of distribution of a product or in the stream of commerce, without more, is not a special relationship that gives rise to a duty to preserve evidence.