Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Documentation Retention

I do not believe there is any law requiring record retention by architects in California. My research shows that architects are advised to keep their records for at least the period of an applicable statute of repose, i.e. the time at which they are free from any possibility of suit on their work. I believe in California that is ten years from the date of substantial completion of a project. See Code of Civil Procedure section 337.15, and also 337.1.

I found two documents on the Web discussing this issue that I think are excellent resources. One is by the American Institute of Architects and can be found at www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/13-02-05.pdf. The other is by a law firm and the Web address is camillericlarke.com/newsletters/ customer-files/93-ae-risk-review-records05/.doc