Also known as: substantially contribute · substantially contributed · substantially contributing
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A contribution to an outcome that qualifies as a meaningful causal factor because it plays a significant rather than trivial role in producing the result.
Serena Soto asked the seller whether a diagnostic machine carried regulatory approvals for cardiac imaging. The seller falsely confirmed the approvals. Serena recorded the assurance as a key factor and signed the purchase contract the next week.
Silverline Industries gave an employee authority to process incoming checks. The employee forged an indorsement on a check payable to the company. A bank paid the check in good faith but failed to exercise ordinary care, and that failure substantially contributed to the resulting loss.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Sterling Dynamics failed to exercise ordinary care when verifying signatures on instruments it issued. An employee forged a signature on a company check. A bank paid the check in good faith. Sterling's failure substantially contributed to the making of the forged signature.
No. Multiple forces may operate together, and each may still qualify as a substantial contributor if it plays a meaningful role in producing the result. The presence of another contributing cause does not automatically defeat the analysis.
Timing matters when the contribution occurs at a decisive stage of decision making. A false assurance given in direct response to an inquiry just before signing can qualify even if other factors were also present.
No. The standard focuses on whether the contribution was significant in the actual sequence of events rather than whether it was a necessary but-for cause standing alone.
Ordinary foreseeable events do not break the chain when the original contribution remains an operative factor. Only an extraordinary superseding event that renders the contribution trivial will defeat substantial contribution.