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November 15, 2005

HONDA EVIDENCE-TAMPERING RECORD UNSEALED

A California court has made public a 2002 product-liability case opinion in which a Honda expert, Robert Gratzinger, was charged with tampering with evidence in an injury case by attempting to “deliberately and intentionally” act to “obliterate or alter” witness marks on a seat belt latching mechanism that was “critical to determining causation” of the plaintiff’s injuries. Honda had maintained that the woman, Sarah Davis, was not wearing her belt in the accident and that this, not a defect in the belt, had resulted in her injuries. The court, however, found that Honda’s “deliberate spoliation of evidence amounts to an admission that Sarah Davis was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the accident.” It also found that Honda’s counsel participated in the spoliation. The opinion was unsealed on petition of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

Posted by MVHAP at November 15, 2005 10:59 AM