## Facts

- Genaro Ortega, individually and as next friend of his minor daughter, Linda Ortega, brought a medical malpractice action against physicians and a clinic for injuries allegedly arising from Linda’s birth in 1974.
- During the malpractice litigation, Ortega learned that Linda’s birth-related medical records had been destroyed.
- Ortega filed a separate lawsuit against Jorge H. Trevino, M.D., alleging intentional, reckless, or negligent destruction of those medical records.
- Ortega alleged Trevino had a duty to preserve the records and that their destruction materially interfered with Ortega’s ability to prosecute the malpractice case.
- Ortega alleged the delivering physician lacked specific recollection of the delivery and that, without the records, Ortega’s expert could not render an opinion on negligence.

## Issues

1. Whether Texas should recognize an independent tort cause of action for intentional or negligent spoliation of evidence by a party to litigation.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Texas reversed the court of appeals and rendered judgment that Ortega take nothing in the separate spoliation suit.
- The Court declined to recognize an independent tort of spoliation of evidence by parties to litigation.
- The Court reasoned that spoliation does not create independent damages and is better addressed within the lawsuit affected by the loss of evidence.
- The Court emphasized that existing procedural tools in the underlying case (including sanctions and jury instructions) provide remedies for spoliation.
- The Court expressed concern that a standalone spoliation tort would produce duplicative “trial-within-a-trial” litigation and speculative damages.

## Legal Principles

- Texas does not recognize an independent tort claim for intentional or negligent spoliation of evidence committed by a party to the litigation.
- The prejudice caused by missing or destroyed evidence is treated as an evidentiary problem within the underlying case, not as a separate compensable injury.
- Remedies for party spoliation are pursued in the affected case through available trial-court measures (e.g., discovery sanctions and adverse-inference-type jury instructions), rather than by a separate damages action.
- Courts should be cautious in creating new tort causes of action, particularly where existing procedural mechanisms can address the complained-of conduct.

## Conclusion

Texas law requires claims of evidence destruction by a litigation party to be handled through remedies in the underlying lawsuit, and it bars a separate tort action for spoliation seeking independent damages.


Trevino v. Ortega, 969 S.W.2d 950 (Tex. 1998)