Also known as: superseding cause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An intervening force that relieves an actor of liability for harm caused by antecedent negligence because the force prevents the negligence from remaining a substantial factor in bringing about the harm.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Summit Gas delayed repairs on a known leak beneath a residential block. During a city festival Chase connected a grill to a utility line without permission. The connection ignited gas from the unrepaired line and injured Marion. The illegal hookup operated as an independent force after the delay and directly produced the blast.
Scott Summers negligently collided with Stella Shapiro's car at low speed. The car appeared drivable so Stella continued five hundred miles. At a stop she was accosted by a robber and the hidden damage prevented escape. The robber's attack was a normal consequence of the situation created by the collision.
Birch Media sold unsecured glass bottles in an upper balcony despite warnings about intoxicated patrons. An unprecedented downburst struck during a concert. Henry entered through an unrepaired door and dropped a bottle onto Norman below. The storm's operation produced harm different in kind from the surge risk created by inadequate barriers.
The City of Alexandria installed an unanchored sculpture in a high-traffic atrium knowing school groups visited weekly. Isabel allowed twenty students to crowd and push the sculpture. The sculpture toppled onto Hal. Isabel's lapse was a foreseeable risk created by placing the unstable object in that location.
Sebastian Santos negligently left a vehicle blocking an exit after a minor collision. Spencer Silver panicked and tried to drive around the blockage at high speed. The maneuver caused Spencer to strike a pedestrian. Spencer's act was a normal response to the fear created by the blocked exit.
Solomon Silver negligently parked near a tree weakened by prior storms. When the tree began to fall Stephen Shaw attempted to push a nearby vehicle out of the path. The effort caused the vehicle to strike Stella Shapiro. Shaw's rescue attempt was a normal effort to avert the threatened harm.
An intervening act qualifies as superseding when it prevents the original negligence from remaining a substantial factor in bringing about the harm. The Restatement lists factors such as whether the harm differs in kind from that threatened by the negligence and whether the intervention appears extraordinary after the fact. Courts also consider whether the actor should have realized a third person might act in the manner that occurred.
Supporting sources
…of its approach limit a manufacturer’s liability if the subsequent alteration or modification was the sole proximate cause or a superseding cause leading to the plaintiffs injury. See Santiago v. Package Machinery Co. , supra, 123 Ill. App. 2d 312 (considering whether sole proximate cause of the injury was the conduct of another”…
…[warranty theories in product liability action]; Paverud v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works (1987) 189 Cal. App.3d 858, 862-864 [superseding cause
…448 at 480 (1965), which states the following rule: The act of a third person in committing an intentional tort or crime is a superseding cause
…while the pipe was suspended. According to the OAJC, the operator’s alleged negligence was legally significant as a potential superseding cause
No. The fact that an intervening act is negligent does not make it superseding if the original actor should have realized a third person might so act or if the act is a normal consequence of the situation created by the negligence. Essay answers emphasize that ordinary lapses in supervision or foreseeable misuse do not relieve the initial actor of liability.
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A force of nature is superseding when its operation is extraordinary and produces harm different in kind from that the likelihood of which made the actor's conduct negligent. An unprecedented localized storm that causes injury through an unrelated mechanism can qualify even if the actor's negligence created other risks.
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In tort the focus is whether the intervening force prevents the negligence from being a legal cause. In criminal homicide the same principles determine whether an unlawful act or criminal negligence remains the proximate cause of death. Multiple-choice answers confirm that foreseeable risks such as a storm at sea or driver fatigue do not break the chain when created by the defendant's conduct.
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