Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Validity of Document email vs Fax

There is no rule of evidence which would allow a faxed but reject an emailed version of the same document. The party offering it into evidence will probably still have to prove when it was received and from whom, but that can usually be done by using the email itself. The email header will usually contain information like what is normally found in a fax header.

That said, your company can make whatever lawful rule it wants. An internal rule that is based upon a misunderstanding of evidence law is still enforceable. If your boss wants faxes rather than emails, you should probably do what he says even if he is misinformed.

Re: Validity of Document email vs Fax

I agree with Mr. Hoffman. Contracts and disclosure-like items (I would consider a credit application to have aspects of each) no longer have to be on parchment with blue-ink signatures. 19th-Century signature formalities and similar requirements have given way to the electronic era in most areas of commerce, including filing documents in court. They are retained to some degree or other in wills, deeds, alcohol-license applications, and incorporation papers, and probably here and there elsewhere. Nevertheless, the law allows consenting businesses to document their agreements and disclosures as befits their needs to make enforceable deals quickly and easily. I'd say the only business document that wouldn't hold up in court would be one generated, signed and/or transmitted in a way the parties themselves had decided, by agreement or by past practice, was insufficient. In other words, the parties make the rules, not the judge.