Preservation of Evidence Letter

[Date]

[Name / Title]

[Company / Organization]

[Street Address]

[City, State ZIP]

Re: PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE — [Case/Incident Description]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Dear [Name]:

I am writing to demand that you immediately preserve all evidence related to [describe the incident, claim, or matter]. [I represent / I am] [client name / yourself] in connection with [describe the claim or potential claim].

Legal Duty to Preserve

The duty to preserve evidence arises when litigation is reasonably anticipated — not when a lawsuit is filed. See Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 220 F.R.D. 212, 216 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) ("Once a party reasonably anticipates litigation, it must suspend its routine document retention/destruction policy and put in place a 'litigation hold'"). This obligation extends to all agents, employees, officers, and representatives under your control.

Under Oklahoma law, a party who destroys or conceals evidence relevant to pending or reasonably anticipated litigation may be subject to spoliation sanctions, including adverse inference instructions, exclusion of evidence, and, in egregious cases, default judgment. See Barnett v. Simmons, 2008 OK 100, ¶ 19 (recognizing the tort of spoliation and the court's inherent power to sanction); Datapoint Corp. v. M \u0026 I Bank, 2006 OK CIV APP 105 (affirming sanctions for spoliation of electronic evidence).

In federal court, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) governs the failure to preserve electronically stored information ("ESI"). If ESI that should have been preserved is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps, the court may order measures no greater than necessary to cure the prejudice — or, if the party acted with intent to deprive, the court may presume the lost information was unfavorable, instruct the jury accordingly, or dismiss the action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e)(1)–(2).

Evidence to Be Preserved

You are directed to preserve — and instruct all employees, agents, IT personnel, and contractors to preserve — all documents, data, and materials related to this matter, including but not limited to:

Communications

• Emails, email attachments, and email metadata (including deleted and archived emails)
• Text messages (SMS and iMessage), including messages on personal devices used for work
• Instant messages on all platforms (Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, etc.)
• Voicemails, phone records, and call logs
• Letters, memoranda, and interoffice communications

Electronic Data

• Electronically stored information (ESI) on all devices: computers, laptops, tablets, phones, and external drives
• Server logs, access logs, authentication records, and system audit trails
• Database records, spreadsheets, and structured data
• Cloud-stored documents (Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox, etc.)
• Backup tapes, disaster recovery archives, and system images
• Metadata associated with all electronic files (creation dates, modification dates, authors)

Physical and Visual Evidence

• Surveillance video and body-worn camera footage
• Photographs, videos, and audio recordings
• Physical objects, equipment, products, and material conditions
• GPS data, vehicle telematics, event data recorders (EDRs / "black boxes"), and dashcam footage

Business and Personnel Records

• Personnel files, performance reviews, disciplinary records, and termination documentation
• Incident reports, investigation files, and witness statements
• Financial records, invoices, contracts, receipts, and accounting entries
• Policies, procedures, training materials, manuals, and organizational charts
• Insurance policies and claims files

Social Media and Online Activity

• Social media posts, messages, photos, and account activity logs (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.)
• Website content, cached pages, and analytics data

Suspension of Routine Destruction

You must immediately suspend all routine document destruction, data overwrite, and auto-delete policies that could result in the destruction of potentially relevant evidence. This includes but is not limited to:

• Surveillance camera overwrite cycles
• Email retention and auto-purge policies
• Backup tape rotation and recycling schedules
• Device recycling, reimaging, or decommissioning programs
• Messaging platform retention settings (Teams, Slack, etc.)
• Automatic deletion of call recordings or voicemails

You are responsible for ensuring that all custodians — every person who may possess relevant information — are notified of this preservation obligation and instructed to preserve all potentially relevant materials. See Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 229 F.R.D. 422, 432 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) ("Zubulake V") (counsel has a duty to locate all relevant information, communicate the litigation hold to key players, and monitor compliance).

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Be advised that the destruction, alteration, concealment, or failure to preserve evidence relevant to this matter may result in:

• Adverse inference instructions — the jury may be told to presume the destroyed evidence was harmful to your position
• Monetary sanctions against you, your organization, or counsel
• Preclusion of evidence — you may be prohibited from offering evidence on topics where you destroyed relevant materials
• Default judgment or dismissal in extreme cases
• Independent tort liability for spoliation of evidence under Oklahoma law

Confirmation

This preservation obligation is ongoing and continuous. Please confirm in writing within ten (10) business days that you have received this letter, implemented a litigation hold, identified all relevant custodians, and taken steps to comply. Your written confirmation should identify the steps taken to preserve evidence and the individual responsible for overseeing compliance.

This letter shall serve as notice that any subsequent destruction of evidence will be treated as willful.

Sincerely,

[Your Name / Attorney Name]

[Firm Name, if applicable]

[Address]

[Phone]

[Email]