Also known as: foreseeability tests · foreseeability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard used to decide whether a defendant has purposefully availed itself of a forum state. The test asks whether the defendant could reasonably have anticipated being haled into court there. Liability or jurisdiction is limited to consequences a reasonable actor would have foreseen rather than every remote possibility.
Foster Forge sold a component part to a wholesaler in State X. A consumer later carried the finished product into State Y and was injured. Foster Forge had no offices, advertising, or sales efforts in State Y. The court declined to exercise personal jurisdiction because the mere possibility that the product might reach State Y did not constitute purposeful availment of that forum.
Felicia Fuentes and Fabian Flynn planned an armed robbery. During the crime Flynn shot and killed a bystander. Fuentes had supplied the weapons and knew the plan involved guns. The court held her liable for the death because the fatal shooting was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the armed robbery they jointly undertook.
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Eastern Air Lines contracted with Gulf Oil for jet fuel. When Gulf failed to deliver, Eastern incurred extra costs chartering substitute fuel. The court awarded those extra costs because the need to obtain replacement fuel at higher prices was a foreseeable result of a fuel supplier's breach during a period of tight supply.
A manufacturer sold parts only to distributors in State X. A retailer later resold the finished goods in State Y, where a buyer was injured. The court refused jurisdiction because the bare possibility that a consumer might carry the product into State Y did not show the manufacturer had foreseen or purposefully directed its activities toward that forum.
Consolidated Rail released chemicals near an airport. People Express Airlines suffered business losses when the spill forced temporary closure of the terminal. The court permitted recovery because the airline's economic harm was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of releasing hazardous materials in close proximity to an active transportation hub.
Spur Industries operated a cattle feedlot in a rural area. Del E. Webb later developed a retirement community nearby and sued for nuisance from odors. The court required Spur to relocate because the arrival of large numbers of residents made the ongoing interference with neighboring land use reasonably foreseeable under evolving community conditions.
The foreseeability test asks whether the harm was a reasonably predictable result of the defendant's conduct. The directness test instead traces the causal chain backward without regard to predictability. Most jurisdictions use foreseeability as the primary standard for proximate cause.
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Yes. Under the rule derived from Hadley v. Baxendale and codified in UCC section 2-715(2), a buyer may recover consequential damages only for losses the seller had reason to know were probable at the time of contracting. The test focuses on knowledge at contract formation rather than later events.
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An accomplice is liable for the acts of others if the actual consequence was a reasonably foreseeable natural and probable result of the criminal enterprise. Courts apply this test to determine whether the harm fell within the scope of the shared criminal plan.
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No. The mere possibility that a product sold elsewhere might later enter the forum state is insufficient. The defendant must have purposefully availed itself of the forum's market or protections beyond the isolated act of a consumer transporting the item.
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…cost of moving or shutting down. It should be noted that this relief to Spur is limited to a case wherein a developer has, with foreseeability, brought into a previously agricultural or industrial area the population which makes necessary the granting of an injunction against a lawful business and for which the business has no…