Business disputes are often resolved by the parties working together to come to a mutually agreeable solution; however, there are times when litigation becomes necessary. When that occurs, there are many considerations, one of which is evidence preservation.
Evidence preservation is a key issue when a business dispute is likely or if it’s already underway. Certain documentation, such as accounting records, contracts, text messages, emails, meeting notes, internal messages and similar evidence, can help to clarify points in the dispute.
Companies have a duty to preserve evidence
A company has a duty to preserve any evidence that might become part of the case, particularly if litigation is reasonably anticipated. This could be before a lawsuit is filed, but there are certain events that should automatically trigger evidence preservation. Demand letters, serious internal complaints, failed transactions and contract breakdowns are some of those events.
If a litigation hold is issued, evidence preservation is necessary. This applies to employees, executives, information technology staff, managers and anyone who has access to or control of relevant records. The notice should clearly state what evidence needs to be preserved, where it might be located and what normal record destruction processes must be halted.
Record preservation isn’t limited only to physical evidence. It also applies to electronic evidence, which can mean securing files on shared drives, messaging platforms, cloud storage systems, databases and phones. Information technology personnel often handle the digital record preservation.
Preserving evidence doesn’t mean that you have to keep everything forever. Instead, it means taking reasonable steps to protect information that may be central to the business dispute. Working with someone familiar with these matters may be beneficial so they can offer assistance with ensuring you have a suitable plan in place to preserve evidence.
