Caveat Actor - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition caveat-actor

Definition :

Caveat actor. The Criminal Law of England supposes that a man intends the natural and probable consequences of his act. But in civil matters there is no rule of common law that a man 'acts at his peril,' except the case of one who harbours or collects a dangerous thing, or anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, Rylands v. Fletcher, (1866) LR 1 Ex. 265; (1868) LR 3 HL 330; with that exception in which nothing short of an act of God, or the victim's default, will excuse him, if a person suffers injury he must found his action either on contract or tort, e.g., trespass or negligence on the part of the defendant. This is the theory of the law, though in practice a very small amount of malice or negligence will suffice. See Malice and Res Ipsa Loquitur.

Let the doer, or actor, beware, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 215.