"Howell has repeatedly destroyed evidence central to the factual
allegations in this case. He admits that he removed the KaZaA program
from his computer and deleted the contents of the shared folder
shortly after receiving notice of this lawsuit. (Doc. # 106, Ex. 1 at
105:19–25, 349:19–24.) Although he testified that he created DVDs to
backup his shared folder before he removed it (id.), the DVDs he
produced in discovery are inaccurate and unworthy of belief. The DVDs
he created are not true backups because they do not contain
information about the files’ original locations. Furthermore, the
file creation dates for several files on one of the DVDs suggest that
Howell created the DVDs
well after he removed KaZaA from his computer. The DVDs also contain
files that were not being shared by Howell’s computer in January of
2006, so they do not accurately represent the contents of his shared
folder at that time. (Doc. # 103, Ex. F at ¶¶ 36–39.)
Howell now disavows his previous testimony that the DVDs were created
to preserve the evidence. Instead, he explains that he simply wanted
to keep his files for future use. (Doc. # 111, Ex. A at 31:11–21.)
Howell’s shifting explanations for creating the DVDs calls his
credibility into question, especially given that he is a
sophisticated computer user and knows how to make a proper backup
disk. (Id.; doc. # 80 at 40:1 to 41:17.) In any event, the DVDs that
Howell created did not preserve the substantial amount of material
evidence that he destroyed by uninstalling KaZaA."
(aus der im Artikel verlinkten Entscheidung)