COMLAB v. Kal Tire: Fabricated Evidence

ComLab sued Kal Tire for breach of contract and produced hard-copy e-mails and invoices that it claimed supported the agreement and services at issue. Kal Tire disputed the authenticity of the documents. When Kal Tire requested native versions, ComLab said the original e-mail data had been deleted after an alleged computer virus.

Kal Tire moved for spoliation sanctions, arguing that the disputed e-mails had been fabricated for litigation and that the native evidence had then been destroyed to conceal the fabrication. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held an evidentiary hearing to resolve the factual disputes.

Kal Tire retained Joseph Caruso of Global Digital Forensics to analyze the computer-virus explanation and metadata contained in the disputed e-mails, invoices, and related documents.

The court accepted Caruso as an expert in computer forensics and computer science. His analysis addressed whether the claimed deletion behavior was consistent with a genuine malware response, whether the available document metadata showed signs of manipulation, and whether related records demonstrated a pattern of document alteration.

Caruso explained that the invoice metadata was likely manipulated because the “Last modified” date and time post-dated the “Date last saved” in multiple instances. He also demonstrated that other documents had been altered during the relevant period and identified additional server evidence that could have tested whether the disputed e-mails had actually been sent.

The court found Caruso’s experience “impressive” and his testimony “reasonable, logical, and ultimately highly credible.” It later stated that “Kal Tire’s expert Joseph Caruso, on the other hand, was highly credible.”

After considering the hearing evidence, the court concluded by clear and convincing evidence that ComLab fabricated the disputed e-mails and then spoliated evidence to hide that fact. The court granted Kal Tire’s motion for terminating sanctions, dismissed the action with prejudice, and ordered ComLab to pay Kal Tire’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Read the court’s Opinion & Order