What is required for a person’s actions to be considered the proximate cause of liability?

The requirement that acts or omissions must be the clear cause of loss is fundamental in establishing proximate cause in liability cases. Proximate cause connects the defendant's actions directly to the harm or loss experienced by the plaintiff, showing a causal relationship. For a person’s actions to result in liability, it must be demonstrated that their conduct led to the injury or damage in a way that one can reasonably predict as a consequence of those actions.

This focus on the clear causation allows courts to determine whether the actions were sufficiently linked to the harm, often within a framework of foreseeability. Thus, if a party's behavior is found to directly and evidently cause a loss, it can be held liable as the proximate cause of the situation. In legal terms, this principle also helps to draw a line between mere negligence and actionable negligence, emphasizing the importance of direct causation in establishing liability.