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Buyer sues Seller for failing to deliver industrial ovens. Buyer alleges that Seller agreed in a signed purchase order to deliver six ovens by June 1 with a $2,000-per-day late fee. Buyer's purchasing manager testifies that she saw Seller's president sign the purchase order at a meeting and later watched Seller begin building custom ovens for Buyer.
Buyer offers a scanned PDF of the signed purchase order that was stored in Buyer's document system. The purchasing manager testifies that the PDF accurately reflects the signed document. Seller objects that Buyer must produce the paper original because the lawsuit turns on the late-fee clause. Buyer says the paper original was destroyed when a pipe burst in Buyer's file room. Seller responds that Buyer discarded several wet boxes without first inviting Seller to inspect them.
How should the court analyze Seller's best-evidence objection? Discuss when the rule applies, whether the PDF can be used, when testimony about conduct is allowed, and what effect the missing paper original has.