Opinion
Submitted January 7, 2000
February 24, 2000
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Jones, J.), dated October 29, 1998, which granted the defendants' motion to strike the complaint as a sanction for failing to preserve evidence.
Lawrence V. Carra, Mineola, N.Y., for appellant.
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz Dicker, New York, N.Y. (Thomas W. Tobin of counsel), for respondents.
THOMAS R. SULLIVAN, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN and ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in striking the plaintiff's complaint as a sanction for his failure to preserve evidence crucial to the defense of the case (see,Squitieri v. City of New York, 248 A.D.2d 201 ; Kirkland v. New York City Hous. Auth., 236 A.D.2d 170 ; Abar v. Freightliner Corp., 208 A.D.2d 999 ).