Taylor Research Group (“TRG”) has established itself as a leader in the collection and analysis of federal records — the documents created or received by the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the U.S. government. Over the course of our 85+ years of collective experience supporting parties engaged in environmental, toxic tort, and product liability litigation that involve federal facilities, federal contracts, and federal activities, we have assisted on matters ranging from government contractor defense arguments to determining federal liability under CERCLA. With that said, we have also found that these records have broad utility for litigation beyond matters directly involving the federal government.
The relationship between the federal government and American industry has grown exponentially over the past 250 years. In particular, federal regulation and oversight has progressively expanded, especially with regard to environmental impact and workplace safety. This provides researchers with a treasure trove of records ranging from federal inspections, investigations, or audits of manufacturing operations and/or workplace conditions at a variety of locations, from factories to mines. These types of documents have not only become more prevalent over time, but also more comprehensive, touching on matters such as production processes and inputs, waste disposal methods, and fuel sources. This sort of information has proven valuable to our clients, many of whom represent firms that no longer possess detailed records about their historical operations.
While federal records are often beneficial regardless of whether the federal government is a party, they are an absolute necessity when the federal government is involved. Many of our projects, for clients both inside and outside of government, involve documenting the activities of federal entities, both civilian and military, whether regulatory, contractual, or physical. Within the latter category are actions that may have led to PFAS, heavy metals, perchlorate, asbestos, or other contamination at military bases and other U.S. government facilities, including at government-owned defense plants. Other projects involve documenting federal awareness and communication of hazards and defects of products in commercial or government use. We also routinely research federal land and railroad valuation records in order to obtain information about property boundaries, historical real property ownership, and limits of federal jurisdiction.
Specific types of government documents play an outsize role in many of our projects. Federal contracts—which are rarely but occasionally preserved—have become more numerous and more elaborate in their language since the nation’s early decades, and are key to cases involving government contractor defense claims or issues of contractor indemnity. Specifications and standards are crucial in these matters, revealing what federal agencies did (and did not) require in the manufacture of specific products for government use. Correspondence related to contracts, standards, and specifications can reveal the rationales for changes in language and the processes by which changes were made over time. Likewise, when we are tasked with documenting the history of specific legislation or agency regulations, or the motives behind government decision-making, we rely on paper trails showing changes developing in real time as well as the context in which they were enacted.
Federal records are housed at numerous locations, with the most recent being active records retained at the offices of each respective government entity, which can only be accessed via Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request. The bulk of historical federal documentation from all three branches of government is held by the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”), itself an executive agency, at a network of nationwide archives and presidential libraries and at Federal Records Centers (“FRC”), where NARA stores inactive agency-owned records scheduled for destruction or permanent retention. Additionally, a large volume of federal records is held at the Library of Congress and numerous smaller federal repositories, such as courts and agency history offices and libraries.
The scope of paper records at these repositories is enormous, spanning the entirety of U.S. history and covering the narrowest of subjects. We emphasize paper records because, oftentimes, the records of greatest value to our clients are not those easily accessible through online catalogs. In fact, according to NARA, just over 3% of their records are digitized, meaning the vast majority are still only accessible on-site in their original paper format or on microfilm. The bulk of these records are unlikely to be digitized any time soon, either, many being arcane administrative documents of limited utility to most researchers. Indeed, many of the records that we routinely consult lack full descriptions, tucked away in boxes that seem long forgotten. Yet the seemingly mundane and buried nature of such records belies their potential to affect current litigation, as TRG historians have seen repeatedly throughout the years.
At TRG, we are not only experts in finding federal records, but we are also conveniently located in Washington, DC, in proximity to where many of those records are stored, including both of NARA’s main research facilities. And, with our nationwide reach, we are also highly experienced in research at the wide array of federal repositories outside of the Washington, DC Metro Area, such as NARA’s many regional branches and the official libraries and archives of each military branch. To learn more about both our access to federal records and their broad applicability in litigation, reach out to our research team today.
