Bell Nunnally Associate Joshua D. Fuller authored the Texas Lawyer article “What to Do When You Lose a Contract When Litigating Contract-Based Claims.” The piece details how “(although) a lost contract may seem like a disaster in the moment, it does not necessarily spell defeat for litigating contract-based claims.”

Fuller offers useful practice tips rooted in Texas case law, including:

• Identify a custodian or signatory of the document who can testify about when the document was signed, who signed it and what the contents of the document were.
• Offer a credible explanation of why the writing cannot be located.
• If you can demonstrate that a standard or form contract is regularly used by the group or association in question, you may be able to offer them as proof of terms.
• Don’t rely on contract language as an opponent of a lost writing.

Fuller notes, “How a party advances or responds to evidentiary arguments in these unfortunate but perhaps not-all-that-unusual circumstances could make all the difference.”

To read the full article, please click here.