In an increasingly electronic world, most companies have a standard policy for how long records (including electronic records) will be kept. In many cases, if nothing is done to prevent it, some electronic records, such as emails, will be automatically deleted after a certain amount of time. Furthermore, when an employee leaves a company, their electronic records, including emails, are often deleted as their equipment is turned over to new employees.

If your company does not have a Litigation Hold policy, these standard practices could cause trouble in the event of a lawsuit or claim.

Under Texas law, a company could face spoliation allegations and the accompanying penalties in a lawsuit if the court finds that the company had a duty to preserve evidence (including electronic records) and either negligently or intentionally failed to do so. Remedies for spoliation can include monetary penalties, dismissal of claims or defenses, or an instruction to the jury that the destroyed evidence would have shown exactly what the other party says it did!

So how do you prevent this? Using RR&A’s Litigation Hold Preservation Notice template in your normal course of business will not only help prevent evidence from being destroyed but can go a long way to showing the court that your company takes spoliation seriously and takes steps to prevent it.