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'reasonable and prudent man' test

Posted by Lewis on November 25, 2004

In Reply to: 'reasonable and prudent man' test posted by Ward on November 25, 2004

: There is in US jurisprudence a 'reasonable and prudent man' test which is used to determine if an individual should have forseen the consequences of an action. Is this a US concept, or is it taken from English common law or prior law in the UK?

it is derived from English 'common law'. there are variations, bu the most famous is "the man on the Clapham omnibus" - a mythical person who peceives the relevent facts and has an opinion.

the 'reasonable and prudent man' is a variation and the requirement for prudence is probably a reference to the reasonable investor/business person. it sounds like a term from 'due diligence' in the performance of a duty.

'reasonableness' is an amazingly big legal topic and you can find people who have devoted their careers to defining it.

I once had a case due to be heard in the House of Lords on the question of the meaning of the word 'likely'. Before trial, a piece of legislation was passed that made defining the meaning unnecessary, so funding was pulled.

Shame that.

Lewis

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