--- title: "Spoliation: Can I Fix This Yet?" description: There is a set of laws called the Rules of Evidence, with appellate cases that further (sometimes) clarify them. These rules pertain to lawsuits and the series of events that precede lawsuits. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/spoliation-can-i-fix-this-yet#) 07/12/2018 # Spoliation: Can I Fix This Yet? - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Spoliation%3A%20Can%20I%20Fix%20This%20Yet%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fspoliation-can-i-fix-this-yet](mailto:?subject=Spoliation%3A%20Can%20I%20Fix%20This%20Yet%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fspoliation-can-i-fix-this-yet) There is a set of laws called the **Rules of Evidence**, with appellate cases that further (sometimes) clarify them. These rules pertain to lawsuits and the series of events that precede lawsuits. Most importantly, pre-litigation the concern is whether the problem can be fixed now or whether the fix must wait. The issue is that the adverse party must be given an opportunity to observe the problem is fixed. If not, the defense is that the adverse party is unable to properly defend itself due to spoliation of the evidence. But, what to do if you have a moldy house or a broken-down car? What you don't have to do is wait until you are 8 months into a litigation. What you do have to do is provide notice and reasonable opportunity to the potentially culpable parties that the repairs will be undertaken in some short order. That notice should also advise that the potentially adverse parties have the right to inspect the damage before it is fixed and that a claim is expected to be forthcoming against the adverse parties. That's spoliation in a nutshell. It's not perfect, but it is a rather fair rule. Do not lose your case because you fixed something prematurely. Give proper, fair notice, then proceed to preserve your assets. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney), - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo), - [evidence](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/evidence), - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law), - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer), - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal), - [minnesota](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesota), - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn), - [mold](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mold), - [repair](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/repair), - [Spoliation](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/spoliation) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [10/12/2016 The Summons and Complaint: Brief, not Vindictive The Summons and Complaint are the documents that, once served, start a lawsuit. Minnesota's rules require the Complaint to contain a short, plain… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/the-summons-and-complaint-brief-not-vindictive) [02/21/2018 Wrongful Death Suits: Why and by Who? I rarely write about personal injury matters because I accept those cases generally by referral only. Today though the subject of wrongful death… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/wrongful-death-suits-why-and-by-who) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T22:00:58.568Z", "datePublished" : "2018-07-12T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Spoliation: Can I Fix This Yet?", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/spoliation-can-i-fix-this-yet", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```