Judge denies strike/compel, grants 60 days of discovery in trucking dashcam dispute

Clayton County State Court on Nov. 12 rejected a request to strike a corporate defendant’s answer and to compel truck dashcam footage in litigation arising from an 18-wheeler collision, but the judge granted additional discovery time and left open other remedies. Plaintiff counsel argued a vehicle dashcam ran during the trip and that the company had exclusive control of recorded footage; defense counsel responded the installed dash camera only records when manually triggered or upon a violent trigger event and that no recording of the incident exists.

The court focused on the difference between a camera being powered on and a camera recording and on whether the corporate verification for discovery responses had been properly made. Judge Hayward declined to strike the corporate answer as an extraordinary remedy and declined to compel footage that the defense swore did not exist, but she allowed plaintiffs to pursue a 30(b)(6) deposition of a corporate representative and extended discovery by 60 days so that the parties could resolve whether relevant footage exists or was retained. "I'll give you 60 additional days for discovery," the judge stated when ruling on relief.

Plaintiff counsel said the driver testified cameras were operating and that the footage would have shown the vehicle’s movement out of a Chick-fil-A and the events leading to the collision. Defense counsel explained the vendor system triggers recording only on certain events and that the driver did not testify that a recording of the incident was retained. The court noted the verified discovery responses represent sworn statements and that a party seeking to challenge them must show evidence of spoliation or other grounds.

The judge denied the motions to strike and to compel; she granted leave to take a 30(b)(6) deposition and extended the discovery period 60 days to allow for that deposition and related follow-up.