Legal Question in Business Law in New York

I would like to know if it is legal for a business to be able to destroy a uhaul truck full of documents containging personal identifying information, by burning them on private property? The time for these documents has been fulfilled. The business did not want to pay for proper disposal.


Asked on 1/02/13, 12:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

Documents containing personally identifiable information are not constrained by time; that information must ALWAYS be properly disposed of.

You would likely need a permit to burn that much stuff and may need to have the Fire Marshal supervise the blaze to be sure the fire does not get out of control. You would have to pay the Fire Marshal, and you would have to pay for the permit. Those prices could add up to more than you would pay to have the documents properly destroyed.

You can your local fire department to see what you need to do to burn the documents.

Note that burning may not completely destroy the documents and personally identifiable information may escape the blaze. You should bite the bullet and pay to have the documents incinerated by a company that puts its reputation on the line regarding its certificates of destruction.

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

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Answered on 1/07/13, 8:51 pm


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