Opinion ID: 198081
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Destroyed Chips

Text: 10 At the outset Adell argues that it was error to admit evidence that Chipco's casino customers had returned thousands of chips manufactured with Adell resin, since Chipco conceded that it had destroyed all but a small sampling of the returned chips prior to trial, thereby depriving Adell of any opportunity to discover independent proof that the destroyed chips had been manufactured from General Electric resin, rather than Adell resin. Adell further contends that Chipco continued to destroy the returned chips even after Adell had made its discovery request that Chipco turn over all returned chips to Adell. 11 We review the denial of the motion in limine only for abuse of discretion. See Gonzalez-Marin v. Equitable Assurance Soc'y of the U.S., 845 F.2d 1140, 1147 (1st Cir.1988); see also Blinzler v. Marriott Int'l, Inc., 81 F.3d 1148, 1158 (1st Cir.1996). The district court, in its discretion, may exclude related evidence by way of sanctioning a willful or negligent destruction or alteration of physical evidence which causes unfair prejudice to another party. See Sacramona v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 106 F.3d 444, 446 (1st Cir.1997). We discern no abuse of discretion by the trial judge. 12 Unlike most types of physical evidence, casino chips are a form of quasi-currency, which State gaming laws commonly require the casino or chip manufacturer to destroy upon removal from service. See, e.g., N.J. Admin. Code, tit. 19, ch. 46, § 19:46-1.6 (Inventory, Security, Storage and Destruction of Gaming Chips). Yet early in the discovery process, after Chipco had informed Adell of this ongoing chip destruction program, Adell inexplicably failed to ask the district court to intervene. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 37; R.W. Int'l Corp. v. Welch Foods, Inc., 937 F.2d 11, 18-19 (1st Cir.1991) (noting that [Federal Civil] Rule 37 is a case management tool which sets forth a clear path to be followed if a party believes that another litigant is not cooperating in the discovery process, and that defendants should have filed a motion to compel production). Instead, Adell lay in wait until the eve of trial before filing its motion in limine. 13 In these circumstances the district court fairly could infer that Adell had bided its time in order to exploit the incurability of the alleged discovery violation by Chipco, rather than undertake its own chemical analysis of the resin content of the sample chips proffered by Chipco at trial. Furthermore, Chipco adduced trial testimony that its customers had never complained about defective chips between 1986 and 1994--while Chipco was using General Electric resin--but only after Chipco began using Adell resin. Adell cross-examined these witnesses at length. 14 Finally, the trial judge instructed the jury that it could draw an inference adverse to Chipco if it were to find that Chipco had destroyed the chips for other than an innocent reason. See Blinzler, 81 F.3d at 1159 (endorsing similar instruction). As the destruction of chips did not unfairly prejudice Adell in these circumstances, the denial of its motion in limine did not constitute an abuse of discretion. See Gonzalez-Marin, 845 F.2d at 1147.