Katie Meyer and Stanford’s parents disagree over missing evidence

Missing evidence has proven to be a problem in the wrongful death lawsuit Katie Meyer’s parents filed against Stanford nearly two years ago, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY Sports Show.

The dispute has been simmering for months, leaving the lawsuit without a trial date despite being filed in California’s Santa Clara Superior Court in November 2022, nine months after the former Stanford football goalkeeper died by suicide. Stanford has suggested that testimony from a possible witness later this month could shed more light on the situation.

University counsel has accused the Meyers of “misleading and contradictory responses” during the discovery phase of the case and said they planned to file a motion for sanctions due to “plaintiffs’ inability to preserve evidence ‘, according to court records. In July, the university said setting a trial date was premature as it tried to determine the extent of information missing from the laptop and iCloud that Katie Meyer was using at the time of her death.

Meyer’s attorney said “missing data” was the result of “accidental deletion” when some iCloud data was deleted by Apple in accordance with its retention policy, according to court documents.

“Defendants have no evidence that there was any intentional destruction of material evidence by Plaintiffs or anyone else,” Meyers’ counsel wrote in a July 22 court document, while adding that Stanford’s “allegations are simply baseless are distractions from moving this case’. taking the case to court and an improper attempt to harass and falsely discredit the plaintiffs.”

The matter stems from a September 28, 2023 court order that forced the Meyers to provide Stanford with a “mirror drive” of Katie Meyer’s laptop.

In that order, Judge Frederick S. Chung addressed the relevance of the mirror drive and Meyer’s mental health and mental condition, writing: “These issues have been brought to the fore by the Meyers’ own allegations… and thus the uncomfortable reality so much of Katie’s private life – including her deepest, darkest thoughts – could potentially be relevant to this case.”

The Meyers say Stanford’s mishandling of a disciplinary case involving Katie Meyer led to her suicide.

“Defendants must be able to test these allegations,” Stanford counsel wrote in February. “Given Plaintiffs’ apparent inability to adequately preserve Katie’s laptop and electronic records, it is unclear whether Defendants will ever be able to do so.”

MORE: The death of Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer in 2022 leads to new law in California

Katie Meyer’s laptop chain

According to Stanford, the laptop has been in the Meyers’ attorney’s possession since October 2022 — eight months after Katie Meyer’s death and a month before the lawsuit was filed. University counsel cited a chain of custody document as a source in a Feb. 16 court document addressing discovery issues.

The laptop had not collected dust since Katie Meyer was found dead on March 1, 2022, Stanford suggested in the document.

“Forensics show that over those twenty months, Katie’s laptop was used consistently to search online, to access Katie’s Stanford and social media accounts (with varying degrees of success), and to access files on the device,” wrote Stanford’s counsel. “This activity resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of artifacts and files being created, modified, and overwritten on the laptop. Some of the original content may be impossible to recover due to the volatile nature of the hard drive and its artifacts.”

In the July court document, the Meyers’ attorney said prosecutors gave Stanford a full forensic copy of the laptop that was recovered in its entirety on March 23, 2022 — three weeks after her death — and a forensic image of Katie Meyer’s iCloud .

But counsel also noted, “We have learned that some iCloud data has been deleted by Apple in accordance with their retention policies.”

Can the judge impose sanctions?

At Stanford’s request, an Informal Discovery Conference (IDC) was scheduled for July 26 on discovery sanctions “related to preservation and production issues with Plaintiffs’ Mirror Drives,” university counsel wrote in the lawsuits on July 22 .

Online records indicate an IDC took place in July. But no additional information is available online about that meeting for an IDC that took place on September 13. The court and attorneys representing Stanford and the Meyers did not respond to emails from USA TODAY Sports seeking information about those IDC meetings and possible sanctions.

The court has already imposed monetary sanctions.

In March, the court fined Meyers’ counsel $8,325, about a third of the amount Stanford sought for the costs of opposing motions. The court did not consider this ‘well-founded, both factually and legally.’ The court noted that the purpose of the sanctions was compensatory. , not punitive.

What’s next?

No hearings are scheduled until December 10, when attorneys for both sides are expected to meet at a Case Management Conference. But the depositions continue — including one scheduled for Oct. 15 in Boston.

Stanford’s counsel will take testimony from Lisa Lockhead, a former paralegal at Justice Law Collaborative, a law firm in Easton, Massachusetts, which is representing the Meyers.

Kim Dougherty, co-founder and partner at Justice Law Collaborative, has been lead counsel for the Meyers since they filed their lawsuit against Stanford on November 23, 2022.

“Lisa Lockhead is not a party to this case,” Stanford attorneys wrote in the lawsuits. “Rather, she has been identified as a material witness in this case, and she has relevant information regarding the preservation of material evidence by the plaintiffs in this case.”

On May 31, 2022, Lockhead posted a link to a story about Katie Meyer’s parents and the parents of three other college athletes who died by suicide, writing, “I’m honored to have been a part of this and Katie’s Save and Hope these conversations Help break the stigmas of mental health.”

Katie’s Save is the nonprofit that Meyer’s parents founded after the death of their daughter.

Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11

If you or someone you know may be experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can call 988 or chat online day or night. Crisis Text Line also offers free, 24/7, confidential text support to people in crisis when they call 741741.