Proximate Cause

Proximate Cause. The legal limit on how far liability extends from a wrongful act, asking whether the harm was a foreseeable result of the defendant's conduct. Even if a defendant factually caused an injury in a but-for sense, there is no liability if the chain of events was too remote or bizarre to anticipate. It keeps defendants from being liable for every distant ripple of their conduct. Example: The court held the utility's downed line was not the proximate cause of injuries from a looting incident three days later.