The plot thickens.
Yesterday, World Magazine reported that 16 former Mars Hill members hired an attorney to send a letter to Mars Hill Church demanding that the church stop the implementation of the new email deletion policy. The attorney, Brian Fahling, requested that Mars Hill preserve the stored data in anticipation of litigation. As I first reported here on Wednesday, the policy was set to take effect yesterday.
I have obtained a copy of that letter which you can review here.
Fahling claims Mars Hill faces penalties if they destroy evidence which could be at issue in litigation. He presses the case that possible evidence includes electronic communications and documents. According to World’s Warren Smith, Mars Hill did not reply to a request for comment.
While email retention policies are becoming more common in business and industry, this notice could complicate matters for the megachurch. Assuming the leaders became aware of this intention to request electronic information before the close of business, there may be repercussions if they followed the policy as planned.