Stratacache, Inc. v. Wenzel

# Stratacache, Inc. v. Wenzel **What Happened** Stratacache, a company, sued former employee Wenzel for breaching his employment contract and stealing trade secrets. The dispute involved emails between Wenzel, his former employer, and business customers. When the court ordered Wenzel to produce his work laptop for examination, he reformatted the hard drive and wiped it clean instead—destroying the evidence the court wanted to review. **What the Court Decided** The court ruled against Wenzel and sided with Stratacache. Because Wenzel intentionally destroyed evidence, the court imposed a severe penalty: it automatically found Wenzel guilty on two counts and awarded Stratacache $200,000 in damages. The court also dismissed all of Wenzel's counter-claims against his former employer. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that destroying or hiding evidence during a workplace dispute can backfire dramatically. When employers or employees ignore court orders to produce documents or devices, courts may punish them by automatically deciding against them—without even hearing their side. Workers facing legal disputes should preserve all relevant documents and comply with court requests, as failure to do so can result in losing their case and owing money.