Screen Capture of Website Taken Offline Found Sufficient To Avoid Sanctions

In Barcroft Media, Ltd. v. Coed Media Group, LLC, No. 16-CV-7634 (JMF), 2017 WL 4334138 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2017), the court found that relevant documents had not been lost for sanctions purposes where the defendant took down certain websites containing relevant, discoverable materials because the plaintiffs had retained “screen captures” of those same webpages showing the relevant information. 

The case involved the allegedly infringing use of copyrighted celebrity photographs. The defendant media company took down the websites where the photos were displayed and the plaintiffs moved for spoliation sanctions. 

The court denied sanctions, finding that the plaintiffs had retained the screen captures of the websites and the defendant did not deny the screen captures’ authenticity. 

Accordingly, the court found that the plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions “border[ed] on frivolous” because there was “no evidence whatsoever that [the] Defendant ‘acted with the intent to deprive another party of the information’s use in litigation.’”