In McMahon v. Ford Motor Co., the Appellate Division, First Department was faced with the defendant’s argument that the destruction of the subject automobile impaired its ability to defend itself in an adequate fashion against a design defect claim.  The plaintiff alleged that he was injured in an automobile accident due to the subject automobile’s defectively designed seat belt.  The insurance company destroyed the subject vehicle,  apparently informing the plaintiffs in advance of the planned destruction.  The plaintiffs raised no objection.

The Court held that spoliation occurred but a dismissal of the plaintiff’s claim of defective seat belt design was too drastic of a remedy.  The Court observed that prior to the vehicle’s destruction, the seat belt buckle the plaintiff allegedly used at the time of the accident was removed from the vehicle in a documented procedure performed by an insurer, was preserved, and the defendants had since inspected it.   The Court also noted that the plaintiffs submitted an unrebutted expert affidavit explaining that the entire vehicle was not necessary to the defense of their claim, as narrowed.