Spoliation, Malicious Prosecution, and Emotional Distress

Raymundo Rico was fired after being accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker at L-3 Communications. He was acquitted on the criminal charges, and subsequently brought suit against L-3 and his accuser for intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court rejected Rico’s claim that he should receive the benefit of an adverse presumption due to the defendants’ alleged failure to preserve security videos, as he had not moved to compel any discovery on those tapes. On  the malicious prosecution claim, the Court concluded that there was no evidence in the summary judgment record to negate the legal presumption that a person who reports a crime does so in good faith and with probable cause. Likewise, the Court held that there was no evidence of extreme and outrageous conduct for the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim because Rico did not have evidence that the complainant had not honestly believed she had been a victim of assault when she reported it to the police.

Rico v. L-3 Communications Corp., No. 05-12-01099-CV