Also known as: active conducts · affirmative act · positive conduct
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Behavior that involves a person doing something by exerting will on the external world.
Andre Antoine agreed to sell a rare prototype machine to Apex Dynamics by a set date. Before the deadline Andre sold the prototype to a third party and pocketed the proceeds. Apex Dynamics treated the sale as active conduct that rendered performance impossible and sued for total breach.
Alan Ackerman received a federal appropriation for a local project. Congress passed a cancellation measure that removed the funding after the bill became law. Ackerman sued, claiming the cancellation was active conduct that directly eliminated his expected benefit.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Amelia Amari operated a pharmacy that advertised prescription prices. The state board adopted a rule prohibiting all such advertising. Amari challenged the rule as active conduct that suppressed commercial speech and violated the First Amendment.
Anthony Arnold reported suspected abuse to county social services. Caseworkers removed the child from the home after receiving the report. The parent sued, alleging the removal was active conduct that violated substantive due process.
Arthur Abrams manufactured cars subject to a federal passive-restraint rule. The agency rescinded the rule after industry lobbying. State Farm challenged the rescission as active conduct that lacked reasoned explanation under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Abigail Alvarez fled police after a minor traffic stop. An officer pursued at extreme speeds through city streets. The chase ended in a fatal crash, and the estate claimed the pursuit was active conduct that shocked the conscience under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Nuisance liability can rest on either an affirmative act or a failure to act when the defendant has a duty to prevent or abate the interference. Affirmative acts such as operating equipment that emits fumes or vibrations qualify as active conduct that can support liability when the interference is substantial and unreasonable.
Supporting sources
Courts treat deliberate operations such as pile driving or venting emissions as active conduct because they involve affirmative steps that create the interfering condition. In contrast, a mere failure to act supports liability only when the defendant owes a duty to take positive steps to abate a known interference.
Supporting sources
The refusal is an omission, but it becomes relevant conduct when the operator knows its affirmative waste-handling practices are causing interference and has a duty to abate. Either the initial operations or the later refusal to abate can support nuisance liability.
Supporting sources
…from ordinary suicide: (1) that she is permanently incapacitated and in pain; (2) that she would bring on her death not by any affirmative act but by merely declining treatment that provides nourishment; and (3) that preventing her from effectuating her presumed wish to die requires violation of her bodily integrity. None of these…