The Preservation Desk
the anti-overclaim layerEvidence starts disappearing the day something happens — and the most oversold document in litigation is the preservation letter. This desk states what a letter is not, shows the instruments that actually compel, and quotes the ESI-preservation rule in its own words. Education and routes; the judgment calls belong to a lawyer.
The rule itself: Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.380(f)
“Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information”
“If electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the anticipation or conduct of litigation is lost because a party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve it”
And the remedies split on intent — the curative tier, then the adverse tier the rule reserves:
“only on a finding that the party acted with the intent to deprive another party of the information’s use in the”Read Rule 1.380 whole →
What a preservation letter is NOT
- It is not a subpoena — it compels nothing.
- It is not a production request — Rule 1.350 is how parties must produce.
- It is not a court order or an injunction — only a judge issues those.
- It does not automatically create a duty for every recipient — Florida authority on when a preservation duty arises, especially pre-suit and for third parties, is split.
- It is not a substitute for lawful process — nonparty documents move under Rule 1.351 or a subpoena under Rule 1.410.
- It is not an assurance that anything will be kept — follow-through is the lawful instruments, promptly used.
- It is not permission to access anyone's systems, accounts, or property.
- It is not a sanctions motion — loss, prejudice, and remedies are separate questions a court decides on a record.
The instruments that actually move evidence
A demand to the party you are against is attorney work — this platform does not draft it for anyone. The nonparty letter it does serve rides the recorded self-representation election, like every operative document here.
The order of operations
A practitioner cadence, not a legal deadline — no statute sets these steps or their timing, and this page invents no windows. Sooner beats later because custodians' own retention cycles run regardless.
- Notice what happened. Write down the event, the date, and who was involved — the trigger record everything else hangs on.
- Hold your own sources first. Your devices, accounts, photos, and papers — including what cuts against you. Preservation is not curation.
- Map the custodians. Who controls each source — a person, a business, an agency, a platform. 'The cloud' is not a custodian; someone runs it.
- Ask nonparties in writing. A dated, specific, polite request to keep identified material — the election-gated letter below is that instrument.
- Use the public-records route. Government-held material moves on any person's request under chapter 119 — no case number required.
- Convert to process when suit allows. The rules' own instruments — production, nonparty production, depositions, subpoenas — are what actually compel.
- Collect defensibly. Native files over screenshots, originals preserved, copies logged — the documents pipeline hashes what you upload.
- Keep the trail. When you asked, whom you asked, what came back — the record of diligence is itself evidence later.
The duty question, stated honestly
When a preservation duty arises in Florida — especially before suit, and especially for third parties — is a question the courts have answered differently in different postures. Nothing on this page asserts a holding. The cases below are named with their citations and quoted nowhere; their official text is not yet pinned, and the Case Layer tracks the ledger.
League of Women Voters of Florida v. Detzner
172 So. 3d 363 (Fla. 2015)
Cited in preservation-duty debates — Florida authority on pre-suit preservation is split; read the opinions, not summaries
Osmulski v. Oldsmar Fine Wine, Inc.
93 So. 3d 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)
Third-party preservation and the written-request question — the court found no duty on its facts
Pena v. Bi-Lo Holdings, LLC
304 So. 3d 1254 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)
Loss versus failure to create — no sanction for evidence that never existed
Golden Yachts, Inc. v. Hall
920 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
Spoliation remedies — adverse inference distinguished from presumption
Martino v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
908 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 2005)
First-party spoliation claims against a defendant — the remedies question
What vanishes fastest, by case type
Auto crash
- Nearby business and doorbell camera footage
- Vehicle event-data and infotainment records
- 911 audio and CAD logs
Camera systems overwrite on the custodian's cycle, not the law's — ask early, in writing, and follow with process.
Commercial truck
- Electronic logging and telematics data
- Dash and inward-facing camera clips
- Dispatch and driver-qualification records
Fleet systems purge on their own schedules; the carrier's retention policy is a discovery topic in itself.
Premises / slip and fall
- Interior surveillance video
- Sweep and inspection logs
- Incident reports and maintenance tickets
The footage of the aisle is the case — and it is on the store's cycle from the moment it records.
Negligent security
- Exterior cameras and access-control logs
- Guard tour and dispatch records
- Prior-incident records
Multiple custodians, one event — map who controls each system before anything cycles.
Product defect
- The product itself, unaltered
- Purchase, packaging, and manuals
- Firmware and app data where the product is connected
Repairing, discarding, or resetting the product mid-dispute is the classic spoliation fight — freeze first, decide later with counsel.
Construction defect
- Site photos and daily logs
- RFIs, submittals, and change orders
- The condition itself before repairs
Statutory presuit process governs this lane — repairs and notice interact; counsel sequences it.
Employment / business dispute
- Email, chat, and shared-drive history
- Access and offboarding logs
- Device data of departing custodians
Departures and routine IT cycles erase quietly — the custodian list is the first exhibit.
Contract / partnership
- The executed instrument and every draft
- The negotiation thread, complete
- Payment and ledger records
Version history is evidence; exports that flatten it lose the story.
Medical malpractice
- The complete chart, with audit trails
- Imaging in native format
- Device and monitor data
The records statutes loaded on this platform govern access; presuit process governs timing — counsel runs both.
DUI / criminal traffic routed
A criminal charge changes the lane entirely — evidence strategy there is defense counsel's work, and this platform computes nothing for it.
Parking / tow / camera / toll
- Program photos and video
- Meter, app, and payment records
- Tow logs and lot intake photos
Program vendors purge on contract terms — the public-records route reaches what the agency holds.
Defamation / social media
- The post, profile, and edit history
- Platform export of the account's own data
- Reach and audience records
Capture before takedown — and never alter or delete your own; preservation duties do not care whose post it is.
Insurance bad faith / claims handling
- The claim file and its diary
- Call recordings and notes
- Guideline and authority documents
The file's own chronology is the theory — its completeness is the first fight.
Software, not a law firm — legal information, not legal advice, and never a prediction. Whether a duty arose, what was lost, and what a court should do about it are judgment calls: an independent Florida attorney can review your situation and bill you directly. The organizer keeps your own list in your own browser — open it here.