Foreign Firms’ Duty To Preserve Starts With U.S. Legal Action

A firm located overseas, with no significant sales within the U.S., was not under preservation obligation until it anticipates lawsuits within U.S. jurisdiction, an Ohio court ruled recently. The court acknowledged that the fact that PFCP, an Australian company, has no facilities or offices in the U.S. does not excuse it from an obligation to preserve evidence.“However,” the court added, “the only place litigation might at some point have been anticipated was in New South Wales, Australia-not Ohio or anywhere else in U.S.”