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Court affirms $3M verdict for Gordie Howe just before death

File photo: Hockey great Gordie Howe during the McDonalds/NHL All-Star open practice as part of the 2009 NHL All-Star weekend on January 24, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

A day before Gordie Howe‘s death, the Michigan appeals court upheld a $3 million verdict in his favour in a lawsuit over the loss of tapes, videos and personal documents belonging to the Hall of Fame hockey player. Howe and an affiliated company, Power Play International, had sued former managers over the failure to return certain possessions.

Truckloads of merchandise and memorabilia were returned in 2008. But the Howe family learned that more than 1,000 videos, compact discs and DVDs had been destroyed.

READ MORE: Sidney Crosby looks back on encounter with ‘role model’ Gordie Howe

The managers claimed destruction was part of an earlier agreement. But a suburban Detroit jury in 2013 awarded $3 million to Howe and Power Play.

In a 3-0 decision Thursday, the appeals court said there was no “reasonable excuse” for the destruction. Howe died Friday.

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A key defendant in the lawsuit, Del Reddy, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015.

WATCH: Gordie Howe video archive

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