Ward v. Consolidated Rail Corp.

The issue before us concerns the consequence, if any, of defendant’s inability to produce an allegedly defective locomotive handbrake at trial.

In this case, the trial court instructed the jury that because defendant disposed of the handbrake, it was presumed to be defective and the jury could infer that the missing evidence was unfavorable to defendant. This instruction was given despite the fact that defendant produced evidence that it discarded the handbrake *80in the regular course of business, for reasons unrelated to plaintiffs claim. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff. The Court of…