WINNIPEG -- Lawyers representing 46 women who have accused Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape and trafficking in a class-action lawsuit have sent a letter to the judge requesting a pre-motion conference in anticipation of filing a motion accusing the defendants in the case of destroying evidence.
In the letter, sent on May 18, to Judge Edgardo Ramos for the Southern District of New York, Plaintiffs’ lawyers claim the defendants destroyed thousands of electronic files as recently as March 18, 2020.
They say the defendants had a duty to preserve all evidence from as early as February 2019, and on Feb. 25, 2020, they had received tips from former Nygard employees who said executives told employees to destroy computer files. This was also the same day the FBI raided Nygard's New York headquarters and California home.
The Plaintiffs’ lawyers also say the defendants' counsel was contacted right away and requested that steps be taken to stop the destruction of evidence and also to explain what measures were taken to do so.
The letter also says that the defendants’ counsel responded the next day assuring **them that steps were taken, but the representatives said it was never explained what steps counsel took to prevent the further destruction of evidence.
According to the letter, on April 27, 2020, the Richter Advisory Group, which was appointed receiver, released a report claiming over 10,000 files were deleted after a litigation hold was issued, which was on Feb. 26, 2020.
The report says three users deleted the majority of the files.
The Plaintiffs’ lawyers are requesting that due to the “ongoing and wilful nature of the evidence destruction” that the motion be reviewed right away.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Ken Frydman, a spokesperson for Peter Nygard, said in a statement to CTV News that "the allegations of document destruction are categorically denied."
