Costly E-Discovery in Backup Tapes
Commonly a public agency destroys e-mail relatively quickly, while expecting individual administrators and professionals to keep needed records as a special exception. Then, when hit with a lawsuit, the agency assumes individual employees can be told to save e-mails that are relevant to the lawsuit.
But this approach is not faring well in court, in good part because employees are not talented at keeping records. The approach can lead to sanctions in court, or a requirement that the agency undertake the expensive task of digging through network backup tapes.
Consider for instance the plight of the Washington Metro Transit Authority (District of Columbia region).