Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Johnson

In this negligence case, we must decide whether the trial court abused its discretion when it instructed the jury that it could presume that certain missing evidence, had it been preserved, would have been adverse to defendant, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Holding that the trial court had not abused its discretion in submitting this spoliation instruction, the court of appeals affirmed the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Monroe and Brandy Johnson. 39 S.W.3d 729. Wal-Mart petitioned for review, arguing that submitting this instruction was an abuse of discretion because the evidence in question…