Benjamin Ashford|Katie Meyer's parents, Stanford at odds over missing evidence in wrongful death lawsuit

Missing evidence has emerged as an issue in the wrongful death lawsuit Katie Meyer's parents filed against Stanford almost two years ago,Benjamin Ashford court records reviewed by USA TODAY Sports show.

The dispute has simmered for months, leaving the lawsuit without a trial date despite having been filed with the Santa Clara Superior Court of California in November 2022, nine months after the former Stanford soccer goalie died by suicide. Stanford has suggested the deposition of a possible witness later this month could shed more light on a situation.

The university's counsel has accused the Meyers of ''misleading and contradictory responses'' during the discovery phase of the case and said it intended to file a motion for regarding discovery sanctions for "Plaintiffs' failure to preserve'' evidence, according to court records. In July, the university said setting a trial date was premature as it tried to determine the scope of the information missing from the laptop and iCloud that Katie Meyer was using at the time of her death.

The Meyer's counsel said "missing data'' resulted from "accidental deletion'' when some iCloud data was purged by Apple in accordance with their retention policies, according to court records.

"Defendants have no evidence that there has been an intentional destruction of material evidence by Plaintiffs or anyone for that matter,'' the Meyers' counsel wrote in a court document dated July 22 while adding that Stanford’s “allegations are simply baseless distractions from moving this case to trial and an inappropriate attempt to harass and wrongfully disparage the Plaintiffs.''

The issue stems from a court order issued Sept. 28, 2023 that compelled 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 state, writing, “Those issues have been pushed to the forefront by the Meyers' own allegations…and so the uncomfortable reality is that much of Katie's private life — including her deepest, darkest thoughts — may be potentially (be) relevant to this case.’’

The Meyers say Stanford’s mishandling of a disciplinary matter involving Katie Meyer resulted in her suicide.

“Defendants must be able to test those allegations,’’ Stanford’s counsel wrote in Februrary. “Given Plaintiffs’ apparent failure to adequately preserve the laptop and Katie’s electronic data, it is unclear that Defendants will ever be able to do so.’’

MORE:Death of Stanford goalie Katie Meyer in 2022 leads to new law in California

Katie Meyer’s laptop chain of custody

The laptop has been in the possession of the Meyers’ counsel since October 2022 – eight months after Katie Meyer’s death and a month before the lawsuit was filed – according to Stanford. The university’s counsel cited a chain-of-custody document as its source in a Feb. 16 court document addressing discovery issues.

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

“Forensic examination shows that in those 20 months Katie’s laptop has been consistently used to search online, attempt to access Katie’s Stanford and social media accounts (with mixed success) and access files contained on the device,’’ Stanford’s counsel wrote. “This activity resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of artifacts and files that were 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 the artifacts.’’

In the July court document, the Meyers’ counsel said the plaintiffs had provided Stanford with a complete forensic copy of the laptop preserved in its entirety 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 of the iCloud data was purged by Apple in accordance with their retention policies.’’

Could the court impose sanctions?

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

Online records indicate an IDC took place in July. But there is no additional information available online about that meeting for an IDC that took place Sept. 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 already has imposed monetary sanctions.

In March, the court sanctioned Meyers' counsel $8,325, about a third as much as Stanford sought for the cost of opposing motions the court deemed not “well grounded in both fact and law.’’ The court noted the purpose of the sanctions was compensatory, not punitive.

What's next?

There are no hearings scheduled until Dec. 10, when attorneys for both sides are expected to meet a Case Management Conference. But depositions continue – including one scheduled for Oct. 15 in Boston.

Stanford’s counsel is set to take the deposition of Lisa Lockhead, a former paralegal at Justice Law Collaborative, a law firm in Easton, Massachusetts, representing the Meyers.

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

“Lisa Lockhead is not a party on this case,’’ Stanford’s lawyers wrote in court records. “Rather, she has been identified as an important witness in this case, and she has relevant information concerning Plaintiffs’ preservation of material evidence in this case.’’

On May 31, 2022, Lockhead posted a link to a story involving Katie Meyer's parents and the parents of three other college athletes who died by suicide and wrote, “I am honored to have been any part of this and Katie's Save and Hope these Conversations Help Change the Stigmas on Mental Health.’’

Katie’s Save is the non-profit foundation Meyer’s parents started after their daughter’s death.

Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call 988 any time day or night, or chat online. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.