Wins

Goldsmith v. Superior Court; Lee (2007) 2007 Cal.App. Unpub. LEXIS 2370 (California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4) [unpublished]. The trial court allowed the plaintiff in this medical malpractice action to base a cause of action for fraud and punitive damages on her claim that GMSR’s client had altered her medical records. Barbara Perry and Marty Stein obtained a writ of mandate vacating the order.

The Court of Appeal held that Cedars Sinai Medical Center v. Superior Court (1998) 18 Cal.4th 1 precludes all tort claims based on alleged spoliation of evidence, rejecting the plaintiff’s effort to avoid this rule by attempting to frame the claim as one for fraud.