By MAIRE O’NEILL

A suit filed by former Los Alamos Laboratory employee Suzanne D. Coyne and her husband, Robert J. Coyne in 2014 against Los Alamos National Security, LLC, and three of Coyne’s co-workers, Nicholas Degidio, Gail McGuire and Jackie Little has been dismissed with prejudice.

The ruling was handed down May 1 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Yarborough and followed a recommendation filed in March by Chief Magistrate Judge Karen B. Molzen.

Coyne’s suit alleged wrongful treatment by LANS including breach of contract, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the Family Medical Leave Act. Coyne alleged that in December 2011, Little entered her office, advanced on her, backing her against her desk and started screaming at her, and began jabbing her fingers close to Coyne’s face. Coyne alleged she complained to her supervisor, McGuire, and to Human Resources but no action was taken.

In January 2012, Coyne sought treatment for workplace-induced anxiety and took time off on FMLA. When she returned to work, she was told by McGuire and Degidio that she was being removed from her prior position and transferred to a new position.

In March 2013, Coyne was fired after which she filed the suit against LANS. The company alleged Coyne used her workspace and computer to do work for her husband Robert Coyne’s counseling business, which they said included disclosing private, protected health information about his counseling patients. Robert Coyne initially sought compensation for lack of consortium in the suit but eventually dismissed that claim.

Both Judge Yarborough’s ruling and Judge Molzen’s recommendation indicate that the discovery process for the suit was not smooth. The Coynes accumulated sanctions of more than $11,000 for allegedly failing to assist with discovery. Problems with the suit came to a head when the court found overwhelming evidence that Suzanne Coyne deliberately destroyed the ESI on her phone to assure any potentially negative text messages were not retrievable during forensic examination. The court found that the Coynes’ actions throughout the litigation prejudiced LANS by continually causing delays and fees.

Judge Molzen said discovery misconduct often may be seen as tactically advantageous at first, but that just as good and bad deeds catch up with people, so do discovery machinations. She said Suzanne Coyne’s decision to erase her phone the day it was to be produced is but the culmination of her and her husband’s willful failure to comply with their discovery obligations in the case.