R.S. Creative, Inc. v. Creative Cotton, Ltd.
Opinion
Opinion
Epstein, J.
The trial court imposed terminating sanctions for misuse of discovery and violations of court orders after it became evident that plaintiffs had incorporated a forged contract in their complaint, had refused to allow the completion of a principal’s deposition after the forgery came to light, and had destroyed evidence. We recount the activities of the sanctioned party in detail to illustrate a kind of discovery abuse that is intolerable in civil litigation. We find no abuse of the trial court’s discretion, and affirm the judgment (order of dismissal).
Factual and Procedural Summary
Renee Sebastian is the chief executive officer, secretary, chief financial officer, and sole director of R.S. Creative, Inc., a California corporation (RSC). There are no other officers of RSC. RSC’s offices are located in Ms. Sebastian’s home. RSC is in the business of designing, manufacturing and distributing clothing. Respondents Creative Cotton, Ltd., and its principal, Paul Shafran, also are in the clothing industry.
In July 1995, RSC and Creative Cotton entered into a written contract. At one point neither side to the contract was able to find its copy. Later, Ms. Sebastian purported…