From: Steven Whitaker <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Court Award re: fire at offsite storage
Given that the fire was most likely an accident or incident, and not
arson... Would it be sacrilege to suggest that, ...perhaps..., ...
just perhaps ..., they might ... might ... be better off
with 20 million$$ rather than 150,000 boxes of old records...
Tossed that in JUST to stimulate thought..., no agendae
__________________
> From: "Grevin, Frederic" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Court Award re: fire at offsite storage
>
> Not the point.
>
> The records storage facility was responsible for ensuring the
> safety of the
> records, and failed to take reasonable measures do so.
>
> The plaintiffs met the burden of proving the cost of either
> reconstituting
> the records, or of the liability incurred if they couldn't.
>
As a manufacturer of a media vaults I am fine with your hatred of
paper :~) I
have to disagree with your point of view here. For example in
Peter's RAIN
Posting of today:
> Sunrise Suspends CFO Over Missing Records
> Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
> The company says its chief financial officer destroyed documents
> needed
> to
> resolve an inquiry of stock sales by insiders. (Sunrise Senior Living)
> ...
> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/
> AR200704
> 2502850.html>
or, how about?
> FCC Proposes Fining Stations For Missing Documents
> Broadcasting & Cable (subscription) - New York,NY,USA
> The station admitted it had not placed kids programming documents and
> lists of its public affairs issues/programs in its files from the time
> the station had
> ...<http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6436585.html>
just to use current examples or how about the Judge in the Prudential
case who
told them produce the records in so many days or they would award on
a summary
judgement to the plaintiffs in a multi billion suit.
So I cry Sacrilege! Sacrilege!! on you; a known Paper Hater. :~)
Severe fines have been handed out for failures in records management
in the
Pharmaceutical field for failures in records management. Fines like
$500 million
and then $150 million and $35 million. Then SOX speaks to any loss
even if it is spoliation
as it is way to easy to make records go away if it suits a company's
interest. Several
of the fires were thought to be arson. The arson being set to destroy
incriminating
records. At any given time there will be records in a warehouse of
millions of
boxes of records that might benefit someone to make disappear.
Companies
have a responsibility to make destruction extremely difficult, by
using security
procedures, card access, video surveillance and management
supervision to
protect the records.
If the losses that occurred in 1997 and 1998 occurred in our current
climate of legislation,
it could have meant prison sentences for some.
As described by the current laws, the CEO & CFO and the Board of
Directors
and then of course the CIO, IT Manager and the Records Manager will
all share prison
cells. Rightfully so, as you are well aware of the deficiencies
within your program of protecting
records that protect shareholders, plaintiffs rights, taxpayers and
so on.
This "No Excuses legal environment has Corporations are already
reacting to their own exposure.
Disk to disk vaulting of digital records to cover up for the failures
like occurred in London,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania and so on.
Evaulting is exploding for a number of reasons. Symantec is only the
latest. Asigra a relative
unknown a few years ago is a household name in evaulting. Technology
is stepping in to fill
the voids in security that those who fail to protect records offsite
have created. Offsite media
storage has now moved into vaults and evaulting spins off tapes that
are added to the archive
of tapes.
So with technology available like disk to disk mirror sites,
evaulting, virtual tape, virtual data
centers; one would have to conclude that organizations see value in
their records and that
$20 or $30 million is not near enough to cover the risk in our
current environment. I viewed a
session by Rick Wolf of Lexacos ( a member of this Listserv) that he
developed for Boards of
Directors and Legal Counsels that cautions executives about the need
for Data Mapping and
real records management. Imagine the burden and the increased legal
expenses of having
your complete archives and media collections disappear. I would say
that Grinnell got off light
for failing to have their sprinkler system operational in a records
center.
The government always seeks to punish those who misbehave. The next
big loss in a
records storage fire in this country will find CEO's and CFO
clamoring for punishment of
those who fail in their system rather than punishment for the
executive officers. All the
$1.00 per box and $2.00 per box claims will be swept away under new
laws that pass
liability on to those who actually create the failure. Corporations
are already finding that
Board Members are harder to find due to their risk exposure.
The legal system always seeks to reach out and widen the burden of
risk. In this case,
the government will be assisting them. The fire in London will be
worth watching for
precedent as NFPA 232 "Protection of Records was in place and SOX was
also in place.
I would surmise that many of the records involved were for companies
with divisions that
operate in the U.S.
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
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