Also known as: duty to act · duties to act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal obligation requiring a person to take affirmative action in specified circumstances. Breach of the obligation can support criminal liability for resulting harm or civil liability for failure to perform functions attached to an office or agency relationship.
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Lars Lindstrom, chief technology officer at NovaSpark, secretly redirected company engineers to build an app for his own side venture and told the board the work aligned with NovaSpark's roadmap. When the diversion came to light, NovaSpark sued. The court measured Lindstrom's conduct against the obligation that applies when an officer performs corporate functions and found the concealment inconsistent with that obligation.
Lila Lin agreed to represent both the seller and the buyer in the same commercial property transaction. She knew facts about the buyer's financing that would have affected the seller's willingness to proceed but said nothing to either side. When the deal collapsed, the seller sued Lin for breach of her obligation to act fairly and disclose material information to each principal.
Lamar Lewis and Latoya Lane belonged to a religious group that rejected conventional medicine. Their young son developed a treatable infection that worsened over several days. They provided only spiritual treatment and never sought professional care. After the child died, prosecutors charged the parents with involuntary manslaughter on the theory that their parental relationship created an obligation to obtain medical help.
Lena Lopez served as the designated agent for a corporation required by statute to file an annual report. She received notice of the filing deadline but took no steps to prepare or submit the report. When the state imposed penalties, prosecutors charged Lopez with reckless omission, relying on the duty imposed by law on the agent having primary responsibility for discharge of the corporate obligation.
Leo Lang, an officer of a community association, was entrusted by the governing documents with the duty to inspect and maintain common-area safety equipment. After receiving reports of a hazard, he failed to investigate or arrange repairs. When a resident was injured, the resident sued Lang for breach of the obligation to act that had been assumed for the protection of others.
A statute, a contract, or a special relationship between the defendant and the victim can each create the obligation. Once the obligation exists, an omission that breaches it can support criminal liability if the other elements of the offense are satisfied.
Yes. An officer performing corporate functions must act honestly and with a sincere effort to advance the corporation's interests. Concealing self-dealing or misrepresenting facts to the board violates that obligation even if the officer later claims the side activity might have helped the company.
…779, 783 (1990). A charge of involuntary manslaughter based on an omission to act can be proved only if the defendant had a duty to act and did not do so. Commonwealth v. Welansky, supra . That duty, however, is not limited to those duties whose violation would create civil liability. Commonwealth v. Godin, supra at…
…essence of wanton or reckless conduct is intentional conduct, by way either of commission or of omission where there is a duty to act
…a duty to continue to provide life sustaining treatment. There is no criminal liability for failure to act unless there is a
…may submit the issue of entrapment to a jury for advice. But whatever may be the finding upon such submission the power and the duty to act
A dual agent breaches the obligation when, knowing facts that would reasonably affect either principal's judgment, the agent fails to disclose those facts to both sides. The obligation applies unless a principal has manifested that the facts are already known or not of interest.
Yes. A parental relationship creates an obligation to provide necessary medical services. Intentional failure to seek care for a child who has a treatable condition can support a conviction for involuntary manslaughter when the omission causes death.
A gratuitous agent must exercise the care and skill that persons who are not agents would use when performing similar unpaid tasks. The standard is lower than the standard for paid agents but still requires reasonable attention to the task undertaken.