Upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition, federal law grants numerous protections to the new debtor, including among other things a temporary reprieve from litigation and collection efforts. One sometimes overlooked right of creditors, however, is the right to reclaim goods sold to the debtor in the ordinary course of business just prior to the bankruptcy filing, often referred to as a reclamation claim.

The Massachusetts legislature enacted the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (“UETA”) in late 2003. From a lawyer’s perspective, the central provisions of the Act (and the E-SIGN Act, its federal analogue) are much ado about nothing. The Act makes it clear that contracts and signatures are not unenforceable merely because they are in electronic form. But the law has never required that most contracts be written down, let alone written down on paper rather than stored electronically.

Almost twenty years ago, a federal judge observed: “From the largest corporations to the smallest families, people are using computers to cut costs, improve production, enhance communication, store countless data and improve capabilities in every aspect of human and technological development.” Bills v. Kennecott Corp., 108 F.R.D. 459, 461 (D.Utah 1985). Although modern technology has indeed revolutionized business, it also presents a virtual treasure trove of information that is susceptible of discovery when a business finds itself in litigation.