Also known as: incidents · incidental · incidentally · incidenter · incidere · incident to · incidents of
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A subordinate right, duty, or consequence that arises from a primary legal relationship or event. The subordinate element confers no independent rights against the primary parties unless the governing rule expressly provides otherwise.
Innovate Pharmaceuticals contracts with Ironwood Capital to build a new research facility. Infinity Bank, a neighboring lender, would benefit from increased property values but is not named in the contract. When the project stalls, Infinity Bank sues Ironwood Capital for breach. The court dismisses the claim because Infinity Bank holds only incidental status and acquires no right against the promisor or promisee.
Igor Ito, a member of a religious group that uses peyote in ceremonies, is fired after testing positive for the substance. State law criminalizes peyote possession without exception. Ito is denied unemployment benefits. The court upholds the denial because the neutral, generally applicable prohibition only incidentally burdens religious practice and requires no special exemption.
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A religious nonprofit owns an apartment building operated for noncommercial purposes and limits occupancy to members of its faith. A prospective tenant outside the faith sues under the Fair Housing Act. The court dismisses the claim because the statute expressly permits the organization to give preference to persons of the same religion as an incident of its ownership and operation.
Insight Consulting contracts to buy servers from a supplier that later breaches. Insight purchases substitute servers at a higher price from another vendor. At trial Insight seeks the price difference plus expenses for expedited shipping and inspection of the replacement units. The court awards both the cover differential and the incidental expenses incurred because of the breach.
Ivan Ivanov owns a parcel that includes an easement over adjacent land for access. When a dispute arises with the servient owner, Ivanov claims the easement is an ordinary incident of his possession. The court rejects the claim because the easement is not a normal incident of possession and must be created separately by conveyance.
Officers arrest Ibrahim Iqbal inside his home on an arrest warrant. They possess specific facts indicating another armed individual may be hiding in a closet. The officers conduct a limited sweep of areas where a person could be found. The court upholds the sweep as valid when conducted incident to the in-home arrest under the governing standard.
An incidental beneficiary acquires no right against the promisor or promisee by virtue of the promise. An intended beneficiary, by contrast, is one the parties intended to benefit and who therefore obtains enforceable rights. The distinction turns on whether the contract manifests an intent to confer a right on the third party rather than merely an incidental benefit.
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No. A neutral, generally applicable law that only incidentally burdens religious practices does not violate the Free Exercise Clause. The government need not grant a religious exemption absent evidence that the law targets religion.
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Officers may conduct a protective sweep of areas beyond the arrestee's immediate control if they possess a reasonable belief, based on specific and articulable facts, that the area harbors an individual posing a danger. The sweep must be limited to places where a person may be found.
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…children. The States have imposed no such restrictions. Nor have the States prevented petitioners from approximating a number of incidents of marriage through private legal means, such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. Instead, the States have refused to grant them governmental entitlements. Petitioners claim that as a…