4.2.4.1.5 No exception for self-generated computer records and operative documents
4.2.4.1.5 No exception for self-generated computer records and operative documents
There is a line of cases finding that certain self-generated computer records are not hearsay, as when an electronic device is placed on a phone line and a computer automatically records the telephone numbers of calls made to the phone. There is no human involvement in the recording.
This exception to the hearsay rule does not apply to computerized consumer credit records. Human beings make entries into the computer system, turning those entries into computer-stored information (not computer-generated information).133 Humans also specify the nature of the print-out from the computer. As a result, computer records are hearsay and must fall within the business records exception to be admissible.134
There is another line of cases finding that operative documents are not hearsay—documents that define the rights or liabilities of the parties in the case, such as contracts between the parties. But the definition of “operative documents” is narrow and does not apply to assignments of the debt from one party to another, computer spreadsheets, or affidavits of one of the parties.135
Footnotes
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133 Midland Funding, L.L.C. v. Mitchell-James, 137 A.3d 1 (Conn. App. Ct. 2016); GE Money Bank v. Morales, 773 N.W.2d 533 (Iowa 2009).
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134 Midland Funding, L.L.C. v. Mitchell-James, 137 A.3d 1 (Conn. App. Ct. 2016); GE Money Bank v. Morales, 773 N.W.2d 533 (Iowa 2009).
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135 Del. Acceptance Corp. v. Swain, 2012 WL 1066357 (Del. Ct. Com. Pl. Mar. 9, 2012), aff’d, 2012 WL 6042644 (Del. Super. Ct. Nov.30, 2012).