Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in Montana. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on malta legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
2 stories
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen reported nearly 7,000 new business registrations in July 2025.
This surge in business registrations may impact legal professionals involved in business formation and compliance.
Access public property records in Montana, including tax records, ownership deeds, and property maps.
These records are crucial for real estate professionals to verify property details and support transactions.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
A preservation (litigation hold) letter is appropriate as soon as litigation is reasonably anticipated, not just after a complaint is filed. The letter should identify the matter, the document categories at issue, and the recipient's preservation duty. Failure to send one is the leading evidence of spoliation in subsequent motion practice.
Sanctions for spoliation can include adverse-inference instructions, monetary fines, and in severe cases default judgment. The cost of issuing a hold letter is one paralegal hour.
A consistently followed retention policy provides a defense against spoliation claims when documents are destroyed in the ordinary course before litigation was anticipated. Without a policy, every routine deletion looks like targeted destruction in hindsight.
Adverse-inference instructions arising from spoliation routinely turn winnable cases into losses. A documented policy, consistently applied, is the cleanest defense available.
Enforceability of employee non-competes varies dramatically by state and is trending toward narrower enforcement nationally. Common defects include geographic scope broader than the employer's actual market, duration longer than necessary to protect a legitimate interest, and lack of consideration beyond continued employment.
An overbroad non-compete is often unenforceable in its entirety, not just blue-penciled down — meaning the employer gets no protection at all. A narrower, defensible clause protects more than an aspirational one.
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