Barnett
v. Simmons, 2008 WL 4853360 (Okla. Nov. 10, 2008). In this breach of contract
case, the trial court required willfulness for the imposition of sanctions and
the plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the trial court's
ruling, but remanded for consideration of whether sanctions could be imposed
for mere negligence. Both sides petitioned for writs of certiorari. In the
underlying dispute, the plaintiff sought unpaid royalties on an oil lease and
the defendant filed a motion to compel production of certain files on the
plaintiff's computer. Defendant's motion to compel was granted by the trial
court. Subsequently, the plaintiff enlisted the help of several computer
experts to remove alleged viruses, neglecting to mention that the hard drive
was the subject of a court order. During the expert analysis, several files
were deleted as a result of the use of numerous data wiping programs. Citing
Oklahoma's discovery code section 3237(B)(2) (which mirrors Fed.R.Civ.Pro.
37(b)(2) and authorizes sanctions for the failure to comply with a court order)
the Court held that the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining
that sanctions could be imposed only
upon a showing of willful conduct. The Court determined that willfulness is relevant to the severity of
sanctions imposed, but not to whether sanctions should be imposed. Accordingly, the Court reversed and remanded
for reconsideration of the defendants' motion for sanctions. (Bold/Italics added).