Keeping corporate documents?

Question

Hi,
I am litigating a case in NY. As part of the discovery I have asked defendent (who was CEO) to present coporate documents to prove his claims that certain busniess events occured in the past. His asnwer was that the company is no longer active and that all corporate documents and audits have been destroyed. My quesiont is, Is there a requirement in the law to keep those records? If yes for how long?

Regards,
Channan

Answer 1

It depends on what records you requested.

If you requested minutes of the board of directors or stockholders meetings, those are generally required to be kept for a period of time. Consult an attorney in New York for the specifics on that. Other documents may or may not be required to be kept.

Are you litigating this matter yourself? If so, you are learning the hard way why its better to hire an attorney to represent you. An attorney will know the procedures for obtaining the documents, and will be able to advise you on what documents can actually be obtained, and/or if there are other ways to obtain copies of the documents in question.

I urge you, if you don't already have an attorney, to retain one. Contact your local or state bar association for a referral.

Answer 2

There should be a legal requirement for document retention, even if a business is dissolved. Check with the state attorney general's office or secretary of state.

Answer 3

The IRS has such a requirement, 5 years, I think. But it would only apply to documents relevant to income and taxes. Check with the IRS for more details, or a CPA.