The Perils of 2013 – Or Any New Year

Wow, it’s already May.  We’re still writing 2012 on our checks. Well, actually, sometimes, we still write 1997 on our checks.  But that’s another story.

Whatever the case, let us pause briefly to reflect upon the arrival of the “new” year, because, as you know, we’ve all written 2012 on some of our documents so far, even in May.  Accordingly, we need to be aware not just of the “new” year but also its potential effect on our brains and those of our clients.

Now matter the time of year, a good rule is: Be certain to double and triple check your documents to ensure they are dated properly.

Now, what do you do when you locate a document from the past wherein someone has made this type of dating error?

First, you say, “Yikes.” Then you proceed into analytical mode.

Perusing the document at issue, it may be apparent from the body of the document that the date is incorrect.  If it is a letter, then the context clues and subject matter may refer to issues or occurrences which indisputably occurred in the prior year, thus making the error in the correspondence apparent.  It may also be that there is no reason for the other party to dispute the incorrect date, and thus, the issue would be moot. However, if some confusion prompted by the error in date, you may wish to inquire whether the other party is to make an issue of it.  If so, perhaps the error can be accomplished by way of an affidavit, a verified discovery response, or, if necessary, part of an otherwise necessary deposition. However, the best advice may be simply to be more careful in executing such documents.