but-for test. Tort & criminal law. The doctrine that causation exists only when the result would not have occurred without the party’s conduct. — Also termed (in criminal law) had-not test. See but-for cause under CAUSE(1). [Cases: Criminal Law 26; Negligence 379. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 44–45, 1110.]
substantial-factor test. Torts. The principle that causation exists when the defendant’s conduct is an important or significant contributor to the plaintiff’s injuries. Cf. BUT-FOR TEST. [Cases: Negligence 380.]
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but-for materiality. Patents. In an analysis of allegedly inequitable conduct, a test for determining the materiality of withheld information by assessing whether the withheld information, if disclosed, would have resulted in a finding of unpatentability. • Under this test — also called the objective but-for test — the issue is whether the patent would have
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