Legal Memorandum: Intervening or Superseding Cause in MO

Issue: Under Missouri law, when is a defendant relieved from liability due to a intervening or superseding cause?

To relieve a defendant of liability, an intervening cause must also be a superseding cause.  Buchholz v. Mosby-Year Book, Inc., 969 S.W.2d 860, 862 (Mo. App. E.D.1998) (“[T]he mere existence of an intervening act is not decisive.  The intervening act must be a superseding cause that is independent of the original actor’s negligence and severs the connection between the original actor’s conduct and the plaintiff’s injury as a matter of law.”).

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