title: SQL Server: Using a case statement to see if a date is NULL and if it is returning ' '
body: <p>I have a column in my select statement that looks like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT CASE WHEN fu.SentOutDate IS NULL THEN '' ELSE fu.SentOutDate END
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This returns <code>1900-01-01 00:00:00.000</code> for the ones that would otherwise be NULL</p>
  
  <p>I know this because when I put in just <code>fu.SentOutDate</code> it comes up as <code>NULL</code></p>
  
  <p>Why does this happen and how can I just get it to return a blank value?</p>