Also known as: reasons to expect
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of awareness under which a party possesses information from which a reasonable person would conclude that a particular result is likely to follow or would govern conduct upon that assumption.
Sun Motor leased a garage unit to Bridge Auto knowing an old hydraulic lift pit lay beneath a metal plate it described only as extra floor space. Bridge Auto's mechanic drove a vehicle onto the plate, which collapsed and caused injury. Sun Motor is subject to liability because it had reason to expect the tenant would not discover the concealed condition before the harm occurred.
Stanley, a paralegal at Harbor Attorneys, was instructed to deliver filings and return directly. He stopped two blocks off route for a twenty-minute personal meeting while keeping client files locked in the car and taking work calls. Harbor Attorneys faces potential vicarious liability because it had reason to expect such minor acts during an authorized errand.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An accounting firm prepared an audit report containing false statements about a company's finances. The firm knew the report would be shown to potential investors in securities offerings. The firm faces liability to those investors because it had reason to expect they would rely on the report in deciding to purchase the securities.
A landlord leased a theater space to a tenant planning public performances. The landlord knew the stage floor had a concealed structural weakness that reasonable care would have revealed. The landlord faces liability to injured audience members because it had reason to expect the tenant would admit the public before repairing the condition.
A seller told a wholesaler that inventory was free of defects. The seller knew the wholesaler would repeat the statement to retail buyers. The seller faces liability to a retail buyer injured by a defective product because it had reason to expect the substance of the misrepresentation would reach and influence the buyer.
A manufacturer issued a prospectus containing false financial projections. The manufacturer intended the document to reach both institutional and individual investors across several securities offerings. The manufacturer faces liability to any investor who justifiably relied because it had reason to expect reliance by multiple persons in multiple transactions.
The standard requires only information from which a reasonable person would conclude the tenant will not discover the condition. It does not demand the landlord possess subjective certainty that the tenant remains unaware.
Supporting sources
Yes. Liability extends when the maker intends or has reason to expect the statement will be repeated or its substance communicated to the plaintiff and will influence conduct in the relevant transaction.
Supporting sources
A maker has reason to expect such reliance when the misrepresentation is designed or distributed in a manner that would lead a reasonable person to conclude it will reach and influence more than one class or transaction type.
Supporting sources
No. When the master has reason to expect the act will occur as an incident of authorized work, the conduct remains within the scope of employment even if the employee deviates briefly for personal reasons.
Supporting sources
…["One who makes a fraudulent misrepresentation is subject to liability to the persons or class of persons whom he intends or has reason to expect to act or to refrain from action in reliance upon the misrepresentation, for pecuniary loss suffered by them through their justifiable reliance in the type of transaction in which he…