Fletcher v. Dorchester Mutual Insurance

The present appeal requires us to determine *545whether we should recognize a cause of action in tort for intentional or negligent spoliation of evidence. A Superior Court judge granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss such claims, and the plaintiffs appealed. We transferred the case to this court on our own motion. For the following reasons, we conclude that there is no cause of action for spoliation of evidence and therefore affirm the judgment.

1. Facts and procedural background.5 On April 4, 1995, five young children were trapped and severely burned in a tragic house fire in Scituate. Three…