Also known as: erasure · document obliteration
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An erasure or blot in a written instrument.
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Urban Finance received a signed commitment letter from White Wealth detailing a five-year credit line. A sprinkler malfunction later destroyed every paper copy in the bank's file room. Urban Finance proved the letter's terms through an unsigned draft and witness testimony. The court held the memorandum retained effect despite the destruction.
Imperial Maritime's counsel directed the captain to delete speed and heading entries from the vessel's electronic log after a collision. The captain prepared a handwritten copy and locked it away. Kent sought sanctions for the alteration of material with evidentiary value. The court treated the deletions as a litura that did not erase the underlying obligation to produce accurate records.
Evan deployed a logic bomb designed to erase DataHive's database. Security disabled the code before execution. Prosecutors introduced secondary evidence of the deleted script. The court ruled the litura did not prevent proof of the attempt through oral and circumstantial evidence.
Universal alleged Sony devices enabled unauthorized copying of broadcasts. Internal records showing authorized uses were partially erased during routine maintenance. Universal offered oral testimony and unsigned copies to prove the extent of noninfringing uses. The court accepted the secondary evidence despite the litura.
Prosecutors charged Scales with Smith Act violations based on Communist Party records. Portions of the membership rolls had been blotted out before trial. The government proved the remaining entries through testimony and copies. The court held the litura did not bar use of the surviving evidence.
The President directed that statutory provisions creating an inspector general office be treated as deleted. Felix sued to compel implementation of the enacted text. The court examined secondary legislative history and agency memoranda to determine the original scope. The litura did not prevent enforcement of the unaltered statutory command.
No. The loss or destruction of a memorandum does not deprive it of effect under the statute. Contents may be shown by an unsigned copy or by oral evidence.
Supporting sources
Litura denotes a blot or erasure in a will or other instrument. The concept survives in modern rules allowing secondary evidence when an original writing is lost or altered.
Supporting sources
…the guide tells whether unlimited home taping is authorized, home taping is authorized subject to certain restrictions (such as erasure within seven days), or home taping is not authorized at all. The Spring 1978 edition of the guide described 107 programs. Sixty-two of those programs or 58% authorize some home taping.…