22.20.3 Intervening and Superseding Cause.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

22.20.3 Intervening and Superseding Cause. An intervening cause is a cause that is independent and alters the “natural and normal sequence of events and thereby produces a result which would not have otherwise occurred.”²⁰⁷

An intervening cause is one that could not have been reasonably anticipated or foreseen by the defendant.²⁰⁸ A property owner may be held liable for an intervening cause if his duty includes, in whole or in part, the protection from being harmed by the intervening force.²⁰⁹ With respect to the defense that a plaintiff’s actions were a superseding cause, Arizona recognizes the following exception:

If the actor intentionally or negligently impedes the exercise of another’s rights or privileges, the other’s normal efforts to remove the impediment...