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Mar 21, 2019

Behold the “Litigation Hold”

Litigation Hold

You are an officer, director/manager or agent for a corporation, limited liability company or residential cooperative/condominium. You occasionally receive garden-variety  claims for  personal injuries (e.g. slip-and-falls).  And from time-to-time more threatening claims (e.g. discrimination, breach of fiduciary duty). First thing first: immediately notify your liability insurance carrier in writing.  And second: preserve all hard copy and electronic documents and communications (including all audio and visual records) directly or indirectly relating to the claim. The first admonition of your obligation to preserve and protect relevant records may be a so-called “litigation hold”—a direction from either your attorney or the lawyer for the claimant to save… Read more


Jun 30, 2015

The Georgia Supreme Court Addresses What Triggers a Duty to Preserve Evidence

In recent years, many courts, including the Georgia appellate courts, have addressed the issue of what triggers the duty of a party to preserve potential evidence for a dispute. In an era of proliferating electronic documents, that issue has become even more pressing. In a number of cases, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that a potential defendant did not have a duty to preserve potential evidence until a potential plaintiff gave notice of a possible claim. In Phillips v. Harmon, Case No. S14G1868 (decided June 29, 2015), the Georgia Supreme Court rejected that bright line test. That decision may… Read more


Mar 19, 2013

Problems With The Preservation of Evidence

In our digital world in which images and data can be stored almost without limit, courts are frequently having to address the problem when someone has an obligation to preserve an item for a potential lawsuit.  The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed this recurring issue in Powers v. Southern Family Markets of Eastman, LLC, Case No. A12A2382 (decided March 18, 2013). In a number of cases in recent years, the Georgia Court of Appeals has had to address when the party must preserve a recording taken by a video surveillance camera in a slip and fall case.  The Powers… Read more