Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
E mail as Evidence
Can e mail, correspondence from one party to another that has been printed out, be
used as evidence in Los Angeles County Superior Courts that one party had knowledge of a fact or facts when he/she is denying such knowledge in his/her court papers?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: E mail as Evidence
Yes, you can most likely use the email but it depends upon how you use it. Also, it depends upon what you are trying to prove with the email. In some situations email would be excluded based upon a hearsay objection. However, in this case it seems you would have a few different ways to bring the email into evidence. The most obvious would be to impeach the individual that is claiming they had no knowledge of the fact they are denying knowledge.
If you have a more specific question, please feel free to contact me directly - (619) 522-6760, [email protected].
Re: E mail as Evidence
Generally, yes. Email messages are no different from other documents such as letters. Sometimes, there are reasons (like the attorney-client privilege or trade secret protections) which might render a document inadmissible, and this applies whether the document is an email or a piece of paper. But there is no rule against using emails the way you intend, provided that there is no other reason which would bar its admission.
Of course, it is easier for the author to claim the email is not genuine; that is another issue.
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