Litigation Hold Notice
(PA)

Summary

This litigation hold notice may be used by counsel representing a corporation to instruct employees in a Pennsylvania state case to suspend document, information and electronic media destruction. It is intended as a drafting aid and will need modification according to the circumstances of your case. The template contains practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate clauses. Note that Pennsylvania state courts have not yet embraced the terms "litigation hold" or "legal hold", but Pennsylvania courts do recognize a duty to preserve evidence. See, e.g., Creazzo v. Medtronic, Inc., 903 A.2d 24, 29 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006). Thus, if litigation appears likely, or has just been commenced, you should put witnesses and parties on notice that evidence should be preserved. Send this notification as soon as possible at the outset of litigation or potential litigation. Your client, as well as the opposing party, may inadvertently or even intentionally destroy evidence. Given the prevalence of electronic recordkeeping, a client may need to have its employees or agents suspend normal recordkeeping or data maintenance procedures to meet its obligation to preserve evidence. The purpose of a legal hold notice is to ensure the retention of relevant documents for current or future discovery. You must issue it to all employees who may have relevant documents in their possession, custody, or control as soon as the possibility of litigation is probable. For a full listing of key content covering management of in-house legal departments, see In-House Legal Department Management Resource Kit. For a checklist on document retention policies, see Document Retention Policy Checklist (PA).