Notice of Litigation Definition

A notice of litigation is a legal document that informs the recipient of an impending lawsuit. The notice instructs the recipient to preserve certain business information for use during the lawsuit. 

Notice of Litigation Benefits

Today, much of a business’s information is electronically stored. Naturally, electronically stored information (ESI) is easily destroyed. This is a huge disadvantage for business owners or other parties preparing for a lawsuit. That said, one advantage of a notice of litigation is that the sender legally requires the recipient to preserve certain evidence for future use. Many cases rely on business documents generated by the opposing party to prove their case. 

Notice of Litigation Considerations

Although a notice of litigation is not sent directly from the court, it is still an official document.  One disadvantage to a notice of litigation is that it’s not foolproof. If the opposing party chooses to disregard the notice, the sender may be out of luck and have to seek sanctions through the court. Additionally, what needs to be done with a litigation notice varies depending on whether the person dealing with it is the sender or the recipient. The recipient of a litigation notice should:

• Discontinue regular destruction of records
• Preserve any new records received or generated
• Preserve records in their original electronic form
• Preserve hard copies of records

A recipient of a notice of litigation will need to continue all of these tasks until the matter is resolved. If someone is unsure of the directives included in a notice of litigation, it’s wise to get counsel from an attorney.

If someone needs to send a notice of litigation, it’s best to do so as soon as possible. Delaying can cause vital evidence to be destroyed. 

Other Names for Notice of Litigation

Notices of litigation have a few other commonly-used names. Some other names include:

• Litigation Hold Notice 
• Litigation Hold Letter
• Preservation Letter
• Stop Destruction Requests
• Spoliation Letter

Regardless of the difference in title, they all describe the same legal document.

Notice of Litigation: Examples of When It’s Necessary

It’s one thing to describe what the definition of a notice of litigation is, but it’s another thing to see what it looks like in practice. Here are some examples of real-world scenarios where a notice of litigation might come into play.

Suppose a business owner has an accident occur on their property, and the injured party decides to initiate a lawsuit and send a notice of litigation. The company probably filed an incident report after the accident, and it may have taken other measures to correct the defect that caused the injury. For example, if defective equipment caused the accident, the company might replace it. As soon as the company receives a litigation notice, it would need to preserve any documentation regarding these actions.

Another example is if a company’s products caused someone injury. In that scenario, the company might create discoverable business records by retesting the product to discover how an injury could have occurred. All of this information is discoverable if the injured party decides to file a lawsuit.

Summary

A notice of litigation is a legal document that directs a potential party to preserve their business records, whether in hard copy or electronic form. The recipient must comply with the terms of the notice of litigation and cease the destruction of records immediately. 

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