Digital evidence plays a significant role in modern litigation, and attempts to delete or erase it can create serious legal problems. Text messages, emails, files, and online content often become central to disputes, and courts expect parties to preserve relevant information once litigation is anticipated.
Understanding the legal consequences of deleting digital evidence helps parties avoid mistakes that can severely damage their case.
Deleting Evidence Can Trigger Serious Court Sanctions
Courts take the preservation of evidence seriously. When a party deletes digital evidence that should have been preserved, courts may view the conduct as improper or intentional.
Sanctions can range from fines and evidentiary penalties to adverse rulings that negatively affect the outcome of a case. In severe situations, courts may dismiss claims or defenses entirely.
Intent Is Not Always Required
A common misconception is that evidence must be deleted intentionally to cause problems. In reality, even careless or automatic deletion can lead to consequences if a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve information.
Courts often focus on whether a party knew or should have known that the evidence was relevant and failed to protect it.
Deleted Evidence Can Sometimes Be Recovered
Deleting digital evidence does not always mean it is permanently gone. Data may still exist on devices, backups, servers, or third-party platforms.
Courts may allow forensic experts to examine devices or accounts to recover deleted information. Attempts to erase evidence often draw additional scrutiny and can expand the scope of discovery.
Spoliation Claims Can Shift the Case
When evidence is deleted improperly, the opposing party may raise a spoliation claim. Courts may respond by allowing negative inferences, meaning the judge or jury may assume the missing evidence would have been unfavorable.
These inferences can significantly alter the balance of a case, even when the underlying claims are otherwise strong.
Preservation Obligations Begin Early
The duty to preserve digital evidence often begins before a lawsuit is formally filed. Once a dispute becomes reasonably foreseeable, parties are expected to stop routine deletion practices and safeguard relevant data.
Failing to act early can result in lost information and increased legal exposure.
Deleting Evidence Often Makes Things Worse
Attempts to clean up messages, erase files, or remove online content frequently create more problems than they solve. Courts tend to view deletion as a credibility issue, especially when it appears selective or strategic.
Understanding preservation obligations allows parties to protect themselves and avoid unnecessary legal consequences when digital evidence becomes part of a dispute.
