Litigation Hold Letter
(WA)

Summary

This template is a litigation hold letter (sometimes called an evidence preservation letter or notice) that may be used to notify an attorney’s clients of the necessity of preserving documents, electronically stored information, and other potential evidence that may be related to potential or actual pending civil litigation in Washington. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. This letter has two purposes: (1) to preserve potential evidence that the client may need to support the client’s own case, and (2) to avoid potential sanctions for failure to produce discoverable evidence that may be sought by the other party. In contrast to some other jurisdictions, Washington does not recognize a general duty to preserve evidence in anticipation of potential litigation, but courts may potentially sanction a party if the missing evidence is sufficiently relevant to the case and the party was “culpable” in failing to produce the evidence. See Cook v. Tarbert Logging, Inc., 190 Wn. App. 448, 468–470, 360 P.3d 855 (2015). As a practical matter, the safest course is to preserve any documents or other evidence that may potentially be relevant. For a letter notifying the other party to preserve evidence relevant to actual or potential litigation, see Document and Evidence Preservation Demand Letter (WA).