Janet Graham v. UT Regional One Physicians, Inc.

This appeal concerns the trial court’s decision to dismiss an action under Tennessee Rule
of Civil Procedure 34A.02 and the doctrine of unclean hands. The plaintiff is a Certified
Registered Nurse Anesthetist who alleges that she was harassed and discriminated against
while working for the defendant, a prominent physician group in Memphis, Tennessee. The
trial court found that dismissal was warranted because the plaintiff “willfully deleted text
messages from her personal electronic devices after being placed on notice regarding her
preservation obligations, resulting in the deletion, and therefore spoliation, of critical
evidence that cannot be recovered.” This appeal followed. We conclude that the doctrine
of unclean hands does not apply in this case because the plaintiff’s misconduct relates to
the litigation as a whole, not to her claims. Nonetheless, we also conclude that the trial
court did not exceed its discretion by dismissing the case as a sanction for the plaintiff’s
intentional spoliation of evidence under Rule 34A.02.