Legal Definitions - shop-book rule

The shop-book rule is an exception to the hearsay rule in court. It allows original bookkeeping records to be admitted as evidence if the entries were made in the normal course of business and the books are presented by someone who maintains them.

A small business owner is being sued by a former employee for unpaid wages. The owner presents the company's payroll records as evidence in court. The records show the employee was paid in full. The judge allows the records to be admitted under the shop-book rule because they were created in the normal course of business and the owner maintains them.

Another example could be a restaurant owner presenting their daily sales records to prove their income for tax purposes. As long as the records were created in the normal course of business and the owner maintains them, they can be admitted as evidence under the shop-book rule.

Overall, the shop-book rule allows businesses to use their own records as evidence in court, as long as they were created in the normal course of business and are presented by someone who maintains them.