Also known as:perils · periculum · periculosus · danger · risk
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A danger or risk of injury, damage, or loss. In insurance the term identifies the specific cause of a potential loss such as fire, theft, or accident.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Fire Destroys Home Before Closing
After signing a contract to buy a house from Paragon Construction, Piper Patel watched a wildfire destroy the structure. Under the majority rule on risk of loss, Piper still owes the full purchase price because the peril passed to her at contract formation.
Grand Jury Requirement in Capital Case
Federal prosecutors charged Pablo Perez with a capital offense without first obtaining a grand jury indictment. The Fifth Amendment protects against the peril of facing such serious charges without that procedural safeguard.
Absent Party Creates Inconsistent Obligations
Patriot Insurance sued Peak Performance for coverage but omitted a necessary reinsurer. The court found that proceeding without the reinsurer would expose the existing defendant to the peril of inconsistent judgments on the same loss.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Common Law
Restatements
Client with Diminished Capacity Faces Harm
Attorney Pamela Phillips learned that client Patricia Patel could no longer manage her finances and faced imminent foreclosure. The rule permitted Phillips to seek a conservator to protect Patel from the peril of substantial financial loss.
Mutual Mistake About Property Condition
Pilar Pena and Phoenix Technologies contracted to buy land both believed contained valuable timber. When surveys revealed the timber had already been harvested, the mutual mistake created a material peril that allowed rescission of the deal.
Landlord Conceals Dangerous Stairway
Priya Prasad leased an apartment from Paragon Construction without knowing the back stairs were rotted. When the stairs collapsed and injured a guest, the landlord faced liability for the peril created by the undisclosed condition.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does the term peril appear only in insurance law?+
No. The term describes any exposure to risk of injury or loss and appears in property, tort, constitutional, and professional responsibility contexts whenever a rule allocates or mitigates that risk.
How does peril relate to risk of loss under equitable conversion?+
Once a land contract forms, the buyer bears the peril of destruction or damage before closing in most jurisdictions and must still pay the full price even if the property is lost.
When may a lawyer act to protect a client from peril under Rule 1.14?+
A lawyer may take protective steps, including seeking a guardian, when the client has diminished capacity, faces substantial physical or financial harm, and cannot adequately protect her own interests.
What peril does Rule 19 address in joinder analysis?+
Rule 19 requires joinder when an absent party's interest would leave an existing party subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or inconsistent obligations.
410 U.S. 113 (1973)Constitutional Law
…the Texas abortion laws, has standing to challenge the facial validity of those laws. A physician who is faced with the risk of criminal prosecution for violation of a statute regulating the performance of abortions may assert his patients' rights as well as his own. Pp. 127-129. 3. The District Court correctly…