How have the courts dealt with the destruction of a plaintiff's surveillance video?

Prince Edward Island, Canada


The following excerpt is from CMT et al. v. Government of PEI et al., 2019 PESC 40 (CanLII):

In Bucknol v. 2280882 Ontario Inc., 2018 ONSC 5455, the defendant operated a nightclub called Classic Lounge (“Classic”). On May 5, 2012, the plaintiff was a customer in the lounge when a fight broke out between two other patrons. The plaintiff alleges he was struck in the face with a beer bottle and was injured. Classic had surveillance cameras on the premises which captured footage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The video footage was catalogued for one month, after which it was deleted if there was no notice given that there was a reason to retain it. Counsel for the plaintiff wrote to Classic on June 29, 2012 advising it was contemplating litigation. By that time, the footage had already been overwritten. The plaintiff argued that an adverse presumption should be made against the defendant as a result of the destruction of the video.

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