This is a complex question. For example if you are performing a business function under state authority/license and the state changes those requirements -- could it be deemed reasonable for your business partners to rely upon the regulatory controls in place at the time of the transaction?  What if you are contractually obligated to a business partner to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.  Does that mean those in place at the point in time in which the contract was executed, those that many come into play at some future point or both.  What if your policy states that records will be retained for the longest of any applicable legal requirements.  Would that mean any legal requirements that are or were applicable at some point in the records life cycle.

It is well to remember that there are few legal requirements that mandate document destruction ( a few in the privacy area are the only ones that I can think of).  So destruction of documents is almost never a result of compliance with legal requirements.  I am not sure that there is a rule that may be uniformly applied to all cases where legal requirements for document preservation have been modified.

It is for the above reasons that I would stress that it is important to consult with knowledgeable legal counsel on these issues.

David Gaynon

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