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Stender v. Vincent1/31/2000
idence obviously occurs along a continuum of fault -- ranging from innocence through the degrees of negligence to intentionality." Welsh v. United States, 844 F.2d 1239, 1246 (6th Cir. 1988). Within the bounds of its discretion, the circuit court has the flexibility to fashion an appropriate sanction based on the facts of the case. In the present case, the missing evidence was the very object that plaintiffs alleged caused Stender's injuries. Thus, although the circuit court found no bad faith or intentional misconduct on the plaintiffs' part, we cannot say that it abused its discretion by giving the adverse inference instruction. Cf. Dillon v. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 986 F.2d 263, 267 (8th Cir. 1993) (affirming sanctions based on the trial court's finding that "both plaintiffs' expert and plaintiffs' attorney knew or should have known that the car was an important piece of evidence which should have been preserved in its entirety").
Plaintiffs further argue that Ford suffered no prejudice from the loss of the Tempo because plaintiffs alleged a design defect shared by all similarly designed Tempos. To be sure, the need for the actual defective product and, correspondingly, the prejudice caused by its loss, is significantly reduced in a case alleging a common design defect, as opposed to a particular manufacturing defect. See Beerman v. Toro Mfg. Corp., 1 Haw. App. 111, 115, 615 P.2d 749, 753 (1980) (holding that plaintiffs did not need to identify the specific defective lawn mower to sustain their claim of a design defect); Schmid v. Milwaukee Elec. Tool Corp., 13 F.3d 76, 79-80 (3d Cir. 1994) (recognizing that, because plaintiff alleged a design defect, the "need for immediate access to the particular saw involved in the accident was greatly diminished"). The instant case, however, raised complex questions of causation that Ford could not investigate because of the loss of the Tempo. See Schmid, 13 F.3d at 80 (observing that "plaintiff in a design defect case, in addition to proving a design defect, must prove that the defect caused his injury [,] and the defendant will want as much information as possible relevant to the issue of causation"). For example, Ford could not pursue its theory, supported by Perysian's statement to the insurance adjuster, that Stender's seat was reclined at the time of the accident. Foreclosed from examining the Tempo for any clues as to how the injury occurred, Ford's expert was required to construct and refute several alternative theories of the accident. Under these circumstances, the adverse inference instruction did not amount to an abuse of discretion.
For the above reasons, we hold that the adverse inference instruction fell within the scope of the trial court's inherent power "to curb abuses and promote a fair process." Richardson, 76 Hawai`i at 507, 880 P.2d at 182. Accordingly, we reverse the ICA's ruling that the trial court abused its discretion in giving the instruction.
B. Ford's Supplemental Document Productions
Ford also challenges the ICA's reversal of the trial court's partial denial of plaintiffs' motion to exclude Ford's supplemental production of documents. Preliminarily, plaintiffs styled their request as a "motion in limine," but based it on the rules of discovery. We thus construe the motion as a request for discovery sanctions, the denial of which we review under an abuse of discretion standard. See Kawamata Farms, 86 Hawai`i at 241, 948 P.2d at 1082. See also Thibeault v. Square D Co., 960 F.2d 239, 244 (1st Cir. 1992) (recognizing the "rock solid basis" for such a deferential standard of review).
In their motion, plaintiffs cited HRCP Rule 26(e) (1990) and Rules of the Circuit Court of Hawai`i (RCCH) Ru
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