Section 16 of IEA : Section 16: Existence of course of business when relevant.

Explanation using Example

Example 1:

Scenario: A dispute arises in a company regarding whether a shipment of goods was sent to a client.

Application of Section 16:

• Question: Did the company send the shipment to the client?
• Relevant Facts:
  • It is the company's standard procedure to log all outgoing shipments in a dispatch register.
  • The dispatch register shows an entry for the shipment in question.
  • The company has a practice of sending all shipments through a specific courier service.
  • The courier service's records show that they picked up a shipment from the company on the date in question.

Conclusion: The existence of the company's standard procedure and the corresponding records are relevant facts that support the claim that the shipment was sent.

Example 2:

Scenario: A legal dispute arises over whether a bank sent a loan approval letter to a customer.

Application of Section 16:

• Question: Did the bank send the loan approval letter to the customer?
• Relevant Facts:
  • The bank has a routine process where all approval letters are printed and placed in an outbox for mailing.
  • The bank's records show that the loan approval letter was printed and placed in the outbox.
  • The bank's mailing department logs all outgoing mail, and the log shows an entry for the loan approval letter.
  • The letter was not returned to the bank as undelivered.

Conclusion: The existence of the bank's routine process and the corresponding records are relevant facts that support the claim that the loan approval letter was sent to the customer.

Example 3:

Scenario: A customer claims they did not receive a bill from their utility provider, leading to a dispute over unpaid charges.

Application of Section 16:

• Question: Did the utility provider send the bill to the customer?
• Relevant Facts:
  • The utility provider has a standard procedure of generating and mailing bills on the 1st of every month.
  • The provider's billing system shows that the bill was generated and marked as sent on the 1st of the month.
  • The provider uses a third-party mailing service, which has a record of picking up the batch of bills, including the customer's bill, on the same date.
  • The bill was not returned to the provider as undelivered.

Conclusion: The existence of the utility provider's standard billing procedure and the corresponding records are relevant facts that support the claim that the bill was sent to the customer.

Example 4:

Scenario: An employee claims they did not receive a termination letter from their employer, leading to a dispute over the termination date.

Application of Section 16:

• Question: Did the employer send the termination letter to the employee?
• Relevant Facts:
  • The employer has a standard procedure of sending termination letters via registered post.
  • The employer's HR records show that the termination letter was prepared and handed over to the mailing department.
  • The mailing department's log shows that the letter was sent via registered post on the specified date.
  • The postal service's tracking system shows that the letter was delivered to the employee's address.

Conclusion: The existence of the employer's standard procedure and the corresponding records are relevant facts that support the claim that the termination letter was sent to the employee.