Kramon & Graham Prevails in Request for Terminating Sanctions for Massive Spoliation in Fraudulent Concealment Adversary Proceeding

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland recently delivered a potentially landmark opinion in a case involving spoliation and the concealment of assets by a bankruptcy debtor and his wife. The court concluded after a one-week trial that the spoliation was so egregious that terminating sanctions were justified and entered a judgment that effectively required the turnover of scores of properties and bank accounts to Kramon & Graham client and Chapter 11 Trustee, Roger Schlossberg. 

Mr. Schlossberg engaged Kramon & Graham principals David Shuster and Jean Lewis as special litigation counsel to pursue the recovery of assets for the benefit of creditors. Through their investigation, the litigation team uncovered the use of a sophisticated wiping program by the debtor and his wife to delete untold amounts of electronically stored information. 

The debtor, Vincent Abell, is no str