# Cause-of-Action Element Templates

Baseline element lists for common civil causes of action and affirmative defenses. **These are a baseline, not the controlling law.** The elements in the user's jurisdiction — as stated in the pattern jury instruction (CACI in California, NYPJI in New York, the federal circuit's pattern charge, or a state-specific pattern) or the governing statute — control. Always confirm before mapping.

Every template here says which source the baseline came from. The `_elements` sheet in the chart should record which template was used and the jurisdiction-specific source the user confirmed.

---

## How to use

1. Pick the template that matches the pleaded count.
2. Confirm with the user: "Does your jurisdiction's pattern instruction add, drop, or reword any of these?"
3. If yes, edit the list before mapping.
4. Record on the `_elements` sheet: template used, pattern instruction or statute consulted, any jurisdiction-specific modifications.

A count that isn't in this library — map from the jury instruction, statute, or complaint allegations directly. This library is not exhaustive; it covers the recurring ones.

---

## Contract

### Breach of contract

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Contracts; CACI 303):**
1. Existence of a contract
2. Plaintiff's performance or excuse for nonperformance
3. Defendant's breach
4. Causation (the breach caused harm)
5. Damages

*Jurisdiction caveat: Some jurisdictions separate contract formation into sub-elements (offer, acceptance, consideration, mutual assent) and require them to be pleaded separately. Statute of frauds may add a writing requirement for certain contract types — not an element of the prima facie case but a defense.*

### Breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 205; CACI 325):**
1. Existence of a contract
2. Plaintiff did all or substantially all of the things the contract required
3. All conditions required for defendant's performance occurred
4. Defendant unfairly interfered with plaintiff's right to receive the benefits of the contract
5. Plaintiff was harmed by defendant's conduct

*Jurisdiction caveat: Recognized in most states but not an independent tort in New York (limited to insurance context); in California requires a contract and is a separate cause of action distinct from breach of contract itself.*

### Promissory estoppel

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 90):**
1. A clear and unambiguous promise
2. Reasonable and foreseeable reliance by the promisee
3. Actual reliance to the promisee's detriment
4. Injustice avoidable only by enforcement of the promise

### Unjust enrichment / quantum meruit

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Third) of Restitution and Unjust Enrichment):**
1. A benefit conferred upon the defendant by the plaintiff
2. Defendant's knowledge of the benefit (some jurisdictions)
3. Defendant's acceptance and retention of the benefit under circumstances making it inequitable to retain without payment

*Jurisdiction caveat: The elements and availability vary significantly — some jurisdictions require the absence of an adequate legal remedy; some do not recognize unjust enrichment as a standalone claim when a valid contract governs the same subject matter.*

---

## Tort — negligence and related

### Negligence

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 281, 328A; CACI 400):**
1. Duty of care
2. Breach of duty
3. Actual cause (cause in fact)
4. Proximate cause (legal cause)
5. Damages

*Jurisdiction caveat: Contributory vs. comparative negligence regimes affect how the chart works as a defense. Some jurisdictions require physical injury for recovery of emotional distress damages.*

### Negligence per se

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Defendant violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation
2. The violation proximately caused the plaintiff's injury
3. The plaintiff is in the class of persons the statute was designed to protect
4. The harm is of the type the statute was designed to prevent

### Gross negligence / recklessness

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Duty of care
2. An extreme departure from the standard of care
3. Actual and proximate cause
4. Damages

*Jurisdiction caveat: Often relevant to defeat contractual limitations of liability and to support punitive damages. Definitions vary meaningfully by jurisdiction.*

---

## Tort — intentional

### Fraud / intentional misrepresentation

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 525; CACI 1900):**
1. Misrepresentation of material fact (or actionable omission)
2. Knowledge of falsity (scienter)
3. Intent to induce reliance
4. Justifiable (or reasonable) reliance
5. Damages proximately caused by the reliance

*Jurisdiction caveat: Must be pleaded with particularity under Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) and most state equivalents. Some jurisdictions distinguish affirmative misrepresentation from omission (actionable only with a duty to disclose).*

### Negligent misrepresentation

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552):**
1. Misrepresentation of material fact
2. No reasonable grounds for believing it to be true
3. Intent to induce reliance (or made in the course of business for guidance of others)
4. Justifiable reliance
5. Damages proximately caused

*Jurisdiction caveat: Some jurisdictions require a fiduciary or special relationship; others do not. Economic loss rule may bar recovery where loss is purely economic.*

### Fraudulent concealment

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Concealment or suppression of a material fact
2. Defendant had a duty to disclose
3. Intent to defraud (concealing with purpose of inducing reliance)
4. Plaintiff was unaware and would not have acted as it did with knowledge
5. Damages

### Tortious interference with contract

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 766; CACI 2201):**
1. Existence of a valid contract between plaintiff and a third party
2. Defendant's knowledge of the contract
3. Defendant's intentional acts designed to induce breach or disruption
4. Actual breach or disruption
5. Damages

### Tortious interference with prospective economic advantage

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 766B):**
1. Existence of an economic relationship with probability of future economic benefit
2. Defendant's knowledge of the relationship
3. Intentional, wrongful (independently tortious or unlawful) acts designed to disrupt
4. Actual disruption
5. Damages

*Jurisdiction caveat: California and several other states require that the interfering conduct be "independently wrongful" — a separate wrongful act beyond the interference itself.*

### Defamation (libel / slander)

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 558; CACI 1700 series):**
1. False statement of fact (not opinion)
2. Publication to a third party
3. Fault — negligence (private plaintiff, matter of public concern) or actual malice (public figure / public official — *New York Times Co. v. Sullivan*, 376 U.S. 254 (1964))
4. Damages (per se categories may obviate special damages)

*Jurisdiction caveat: Per se / per quod distinctions vary. Some states require retraction demand as a precondition. Anti-SLAPP statutes in many states change the burden at an early stage.*

### Conversion

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 222A):**
1. Plaintiff's ownership or right to possession of the property at the time of conversion
2. Defendant's wrongful act (exercise of dominion inconsistent with plaintiff's rights)
3. Damages

### Trespass to chattels

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 217, 218):**
1. Plaintiff's possessory interest in the chattel
2. Defendant's intentional interference with plaintiff's use or possession
3. Actual damage (dispossession, impairment of condition, deprivation of use)

### Intentional infliction of emotional distress

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46):**
1. Extreme and outrageous conduct
2. Intent to cause, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, severe emotional distress
3. Severe emotional distress
4. Actual and proximate causation

---

## Fiduciary / corporate

### Breach of fiduciary duty

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Existence of a fiduciary relationship
2. Breach of a fiduciary duty (duty of care, duty of loyalty, or duty of good faith)
3. Causation
4. Damages (or, in equity, unjust enrichment / disgorgement)

*Jurisdiction caveat: Delaware's framework distinguishes duty of care, duty of loyalty (including good faith), and applies the business judgment rule as a presumption. Entire fairness review applies in conflict transactions. Demand futility / derivative standing rules add significant procedural elements for derivative claims.*

### Aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Existence of a fiduciary duty
2. Breach of that duty by the fiduciary
3. Knowing participation in the breach by the defendant
4. Damages proximately caused

---

## Securities

### §10(b) / Rule 10b-5 securities fraud

**Elements (baseline — *Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo*, 544 U.S. 336 (2005); *Stoneridge Inv. Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta*, 552 U.S. 148 (2008)):**
1. Material misrepresentation or omission (omission actionable when there is a duty to disclose)
2. Scienter (intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud — or at minimum recklessness)
3. Connection with the purchase or sale of a security
4. Reliance (presumed under fraud-on-the-market per *Basic Inc. v. Levinson*, 485 U.S. 224 (1988))
5. Economic loss
6. Loss causation (the misrepresentation caused the loss)

*Jurisdiction caveat: PSLRA heightened pleading standards apply in federal court — scienter must be pleaded with particularity giving rise to a strong inference. Class certification requires additional *Halliburton* / *Amgen* analysis.*

### §11 Securities Act

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Acquisition of a security issued pursuant to a registration statement
2. Material misrepresentation or omission in the registration statement
3. Tracing (plaintiff's shares traceable to the allegedly defective registration statement)

*Jurisdiction caveat: Strict liability on the issuer; due diligence defenses for underwriters and directors. Damages are statutorily defined.*

---

## Antitrust

### Sherman Act § 1 (agreement in restraint of trade)

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Existence of a contract, combination, or conspiracy (concerted action between two or more independent economic actors)
2. Unreasonable restraint of trade (per se illegal categories or rule-of-reason analysis)
3. Effect on interstate commerce
4. Antitrust injury
5. Damages

### Sherman Act § 2 (monopolization)

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Possession of monopoly power in the relevant market
2. Willful acquisition or maintenance of that power (as distinct from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident)
3. Antitrust injury
4. Damages

---

## Employment

### Title VII disparate treatment (McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting)

**Prima facie elements (baseline — *McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green*, 411 U.S. 792 (1973)):**
1. Membership in a protected class
2. Qualification for the position
3. Adverse employment action
4. Circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination (often: similarly situated employees outside the protected class treated more favorably, or the position filled by someone outside the class)

*Then: burden shifts to defendant to articulate a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason, then back to plaintiff to show pretext. The chart should separate prima facie evidence from pretext evidence.*

### Title VII hostile work environment

**Elements (baseline — *Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc.*, 510 U.S. 17 (1993)):**
1. Membership in a protected class
2. Unwelcome harassment
3. Harassment based on a protected characteristic
4. Harassment sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment
5. Employer liability (depending on who the harasser was — supervisor under *Faragher/Ellerth*; coworker under *Vance v. Ball State University*, 570 U.S. 421 (2013))

### Title VII retaliation

**Prima facie elements (baseline — *Burlington N. & S. F. R. Co. v. White*, 548 U.S. 53 (2006); *University of Texas Southwestern Med. Ctr. v. Nassar*, 570 U.S. 338 (2013)):**
1. Protected activity (opposing discrimination or participating in a proceeding)
2. Materially adverse action (one that would dissuade a reasonable employee from engaging in protected activity)
3. But-for causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action

### ADEA disparate treatment

**Elements (baseline — *Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc.*, 557 U.S. 167 (2009)):**
1. Plaintiff is 40 or older
2. Qualified for the position
3. Adverse employment action
4. But-for causation — age was the but-for cause of the adverse action (not merely a motivating factor)

### FLSA overtime claim

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Employer-employee relationship covered by the FLSA (enterprise or individual coverage)
2. Employee worked more than 40 hours in a workweek
3. Employer failed to pay time-and-a-half for overtime hours
4. The employee is non-exempt (exemptions are affirmative defenses)

### Wrongful termination in violation of public policy

**Elements (baseline — varies by state; California *Tameny* formulation representative):**
1. Employer-employee relationship
2. Termination (or constructive discharge)
3. Violation of a fundamental public policy tethered to a statute or constitutional provision
4. Damages

---

## Trade secret / IP (civil)

### Trade secret misappropriation (DTSA / UTSA)

**Elements (baseline — 18 U.S.C. § 1836; UTSA § 1):**
1. The information qualifies as a trade secret (not generally known; derives economic value from not being generally known)
2. The owner took reasonable measures to maintain secrecy
3. Misappropriation — acquisition by improper means, or disclosure / use in breach of a duty to maintain secrecy

*Jurisdiction caveat: DTSA requires interstate nexus. UTSA adopted in most states but not New York (which follows common-law Restatement of Torts § 757 approach) or Massachusetts (MUTSA). Preemption of related common-law tort claims varies.*

### Copyright infringement

**Elements (baseline — 17 U.S.C. § 501):**
1. Ownership of a valid copyright
2. Copying of constituent elements of the work that are original

*Jurisdiction caveat: Registration (or preregistration) required before filing infringement suit — *Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC*, 586 U.S. 296 (2019). Substantial similarity analysis varies by circuit.*

### Trademark infringement (Lanham Act § 32 / § 43(a))

**Elements (baseline — 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a)):**
1. Plaintiff owns a valid, protectable mark (registration aids; not required for § 43(a))
2. Defendant's use in commerce of a similar mark
3. Likelihood of confusion among relevant consumers

*Jurisdiction caveat: Multi-factor likelihood-of-confusion test varies by circuit (Sleekcraft, Polaroid, du Pont, etc.). For patent infringement, route to the patent mode of this skill.*

---

## Property

### Trespass to land

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 158):**
1. Plaintiff's possession of the land
2. Defendant's intentional entry (or causing entry of a thing)
3. Without consent or privilege

### Nuisance (private)

**Elements (baseline — Restatement (Second) of Torts § 821D):**
1. Plaintiff's interest in the use and enjoyment of land
2. Substantial and unreasonable interference with that use and enjoyment
3. Caused by the defendant's conduct (intentional or negligent)
4. Damages

---

## Affirmative defenses (selected)

Defenses have their own elements that the party raising the defense generally must prove. Map them the same way as causes of action — elements, evidence, gap list.

### Statute of limitations

**Elements (baseline):**
1. The applicable limitations period for the claim
2. The claim accrued on a specific date (with any discovery-rule or tolling analysis)
3. The complaint was filed after the period ran

### Laches (equitable defense)

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Unreasonable delay by the plaintiff in asserting the claim
2. Prejudice to the defendant caused by the delay

### Equitable estoppel

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Defendant's conduct or representation
2. Plaintiff's reliance on it
3. Detrimental change in plaintiff's position
4. Injustice if estoppel is not applied

### Waiver

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Existence of a known right
2. Voluntary relinquishment of that right (intentional and with knowledge)

### Unclean hands (equitable defense)

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Inequitable or wrongful conduct by the plaintiff
2. Conduct directly related to the subject of the claim
3. Prejudice to the defendant

### Release

**Elements (baseline):**
1. A valid release agreement
2. Covering the claims at issue
3. Supported by consideration (generally)
4. Executed by a party with authority

### Accord and satisfaction

**Elements (baseline — UCC § 3-311 for negotiable instruments; common law otherwise):**
1. A bona fide dispute over an unliquidated or disputed claim
2. Agreement to settle the dispute
3. Tender of performance in full satisfaction
4. Acceptance of the tender

### Failure to mitigate damages

**Elements (baseline):**
1. The plaintiff could have reduced damages by reasonable effort
2. The plaintiff failed to make that effort
3. The amount by which damages could have been reduced

### Comparative fault / contributory negligence

**Elements (baseline — jurisdiction-dependent):**
1. Plaintiff's own negligent conduct
2. Proximate cause of plaintiff's own injury
3. (Comparative regimes) apportionment of fault

*Jurisdiction caveat: Pure comparative vs. modified comparative (50% or 51% bar) vs. pure contributory (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C. — complete bar) — the jurisdiction's regime determines the effect.*

### Assumption of risk

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Plaintiff's actual knowledge of the risk
2. Plaintiff's voluntary acceptance of the risk
3. The injury resulted from that risk

### Failure to exhaust administrative remedies

**Elements (baseline):**
1. Statute or regulation requires administrative exhaustion
2. Plaintiff did not complete the required administrative process
3. No recognized exception (futility, irreparable harm, etc.) applies

---

## Adding a template

This library is not exhaustive. When a new cause of action or defense comes up:
1. Map the elements from the controlling pattern instruction, statute, or Restatement.
2. If the template is likely to recur across matters, add it here with a citation.
3. Note the jurisdiction caveat — where the elements vary, say so and give one representative alternative formulation.

Templates are a baseline, not an authority. The controlling pattern instruction or statute always controls.
