Posted by John Merchant on July 15, 2006 at 11:52:52:
Well, while you may be right as to VA RCP and law of evidence, any alert lawyer is going to be very conscious about the UETA (Uniform Electronic Transmission Act) and its various actually enacted state versions, as such might make any contents extremely cogent and pertinent to any business lawsuit…and thus very rigorously argued in court by the party wanting to get it into evidence.
For the layman, the effect of the UETA enactments in the 50 states is that ANY electronic agreement is now just as admissible as if written and signed…and this is true of fax, tape, wire, or electronic voice or video recordings and emails.
I have used this tool in various agreements I’ve made with parties in other states, mostly by email.
While I’d prefer to have any agreement carefully and thoughtfully drafted and signed and witnessed, there are those situations where things are happening too fast and a deal might be avalable now, and the other party wants an agreement right now…and I have cemented a lot of these by emails with receipts.
Hello! I was concerned about whether the “business telephone” exception rule applies to taping telephone conversations with people in various states; or need we inform the party in a two party state that the telephone conversation is being recorded? Happy investing! Richard Gaulli
It’s legal in VA to record if one party is aware of it, but the tape is inadmissable in civil court unless there is an admission of guilt of a crime that is material to the case. Been there done that.
Thanks for the responses! My latest find reveals that eleven states are involved in 2 party consent; one of which Jimmy had spoken concerning. I am looking further into what is signified by the “business exception” rule. Many thanks! Rich G.
no such exceptions in California, where I looked into the issue a few years back. and I think most states have similar rules.
NEVER tape phone calls without warning the other party. and that warning needs to be on the tape.
The consequences can be nasty if you get caught.
A client of mine suspected that an employee was revealing trade secrets to a competitor. My client taped some calls on the office phone, and discovered that the employee was, in fact, a RAT. Client called me and asked if they could terminate him on the spot. I told them to keep quiet for a few hours so I could check the law. It took me 10 minutes to figure out that they broke the law, and could get sued BIGTIME for a number of things. invasion of privacy. wrongful termination. plus punitives. and that is just on the civil side. there are criminal penalties as well.