Decision ID: 002035

In March 2007 the 1992 Fund Executive Committee noted that in connection with the legal action by the Spanish State against the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in the Federal Court of first instance in New York, the judge supervising discovery had in November 2006 ruled on a motion by ABS to compel the Spanish State to produce all e-mail communications over the casualty period, but that the judge had found that the State had failed either to preserve the communications or to conduct a diligent search for them, that the judge had invited ABS to make a request for the relief, remedy or sanction it deemed appropriate, and that the Spanish State had appealed. It was noted that ABS had filed a motion seeking sanctions and had requested dismissal of the action or certain parts of it, or a ruling that at trial an adverse inference should be drawn against the State for its failure to produce e-mails and that ABS had requested, in any event, recovery of its costs and fees associated with the dispute over the production of the e-mails. It was noted that the Spanish State had opposed the motion by ABS, since the State had produced e-mails corresponding to the days when the incident had occurred and that ABS had not shown that the e-mails contained information relevant to the proceedings. It was noted that the Court had not yet rendered a judgement on that matter.