Also known as: risks · risked · risking · hazard · peril
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The possibility of harm, loss, or adverse consequence arising from conduct, circumstances, or an event.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Roger Ramirez approaches Rina Rahman on a dark street and demands her purse while brandishing a knife and stating he will stab her if she resists. The threat places Rina in immediate danger of serious injury, satisfying the requirement that intimidation involve a substantial risk of death or bodily harm. Because the force element is met through this risk, the taking qualifies as robbery rather than mere theft.
Roberto Reyes signs a binding contract to purchase a warehouse from Ruby Rivera. Before closing a fire destroys the building. Under equitable conversion the risk of loss shifted to Roberto at signing, so he remains obligated to pay the full purchase price even though the property no longer exists.
Ronald Reed sues Regal Apparel for breach of a supply contract. A subcontractor not joined in the suit holds an interest that could subject Regal Apparel to separate judgments imposing conflicting duties. The court therefore orders joinder to eliminate the substantial risk of multiple or inconsistent obligations.
Robert Rivera drives his truck at high speed through a crowded school zone while texting, consciously aware that the conduct creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of striking a child. The gross deviation from the standard a law-abiding person would observe establishes the mental state of recklessness for any resulting offense.
Radiance Media's elderly client, unable to manage finances, faces imminent loss of her home through foreclosure. The lawyer reasonably believes the client cannot protect her own interests and therefore consults adult children and petitions for appointment of a conservator to prevent substantial financial harm.
Riverside Healthcare contracts to buy a medical building from Rocky Mountain Mining believing both parties assume the structure meets seismic standards. Discovery after signing reveals the building fails those standards, materially altering the exchange. The adversely affected party may void the contract unless it bears the risk of the mistake under the governing allocation rule.
The threat must involve an immediate risk of death or serious physical injury to the victim or a person in the victim's presence. Threats limited to property damage do not qualify unless the threat is to destroy the victim's dwelling.
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Under the majority rule of equitable conversion the risk passes to the buyer at contract formation. The buyer must still pay the full price even if the property is destroyed before closing.
…Recommended Standards for Abortion Services, 61 Am. J. Pub. Health 396 (1971). Among factors pertinent to life and health risks associated with abortion were three that "are recognized as important": "a. the skill of the physician, "b. the environment in which the abortion is performed, and above all "c.…
…discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government. They recognized the risks to which all human institutions are subject. But they knew that order cannot be secured merely through fear of punishment for its infraction; that it is
…or studies. Those who founded our country would not recognize the majority’s conception of the judicial role. They after all risked their lives and fortunes for the precious right to govern themselves. They would never have imagined yielding that right on a question of social policy to unaccountable and unelected…
…were perfectly lawful in themselves. They involved no “blameworthiness, . . . moral wrongdoing or conscious act of dangerous risk
…of all, since any objection sustained would inure to the benefit of all. We think that under such circumstances reasonable risks
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A person must be joined when disposing of the action in that person's absence would leave an existing party subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent obligations.
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A person acts recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element exists or will result from conduct. The disregard must constitute a gross deviation from the standard a law-abiding person would observe.
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When the lawyer reasonably believes the client has diminished capacity, faces a risk of substantial physical, financial, or other harm, and cannot adequately act in the client's own interest, the lawyer may consult others or seek appointment of a guardian.
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A contract is voidable by the adversely affected party when both parties were mistaken about a basic assumption that has a material effect on the exchange, unless that party bears the risk of the mistake.
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