Judge Rejects Sanctions Against USTA For Destroying Bouchard Video

Federal judge Ann Donnelly late yesterday rejected proposed sanctions against the USTA for destroying allegedly critical videotape evidence in the lawsuit brought by tennis player Eugenie Bouchard for the fall and concussion she suffered at the '15 U.S. Open. Donnelly affirmed a magistrate judge’s earlier decision that the USTA had not willfully destroyed evidence and had reasonably preserved other evidence. The organization preserved videotape footage outside the women’s locker room, but 18 months later Bouchard’s lawyers requested footage from the gym and outside the media center. That footage had been destroyed.

Bouchard’s lawyer was seeking penalties against the USTA and for the judge to rule that the lost evidence could be presumed to be adverse against the tennis organization’s arguments. Bouchard, once ranked in the top 5 in the world, is believed to be suing for millions of dollars in damages over the fall she took in the locker room. She currently is ranked 76th.