(CN) - A Utah business cannot overturn a default judgment entered against it for destruction of evidence after its employees threw a laptop off a building, then ran it over, in an attempt to thwart a lawsuit, the Utah Court of Appeals ruled.
The trial court granted the victory to plaintiff Daynight LLC over KK Machinery as a sanction.
KK Machinery employees didn't stop after throwing the laptop off a building. The laptop was then run over with a car.
One employee stated, "[If] this gets us into trouble, I hope we're prison buddies."
The Utah Court of Appeals cited that quotation in affirming the default judgment, stating that it and the other employees' actions "unquestionably demonstrate bad faith and a general disregard for the judicial process."
"Courts around the nation frequently grant default judgments against parties who intentionally destroy evidence, including evidence stored on computers and on hard drives," Judge Gregory Orme wrote on behalf of the court.
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