Due Diligence

The doctrine of due diligence can have numerous meanings in different contexts; in the context of civil litigation, it refers to the obligation of one party to adhere to a certain standard of behavior. Typically, this is specifically outlined in a contract; however, there are numerous cases in which due diligence can be implied.

Due diligence is often referred to in concert with a duty of care; however, they are two distinct (but interrelated concepts). A duty of care is enacted whenever anyone engages in actions that could foreseeably cause harm to other people who do not consent to that risk. Due diligence refers to the actions that must be taken in order to fulfill this duty of care.

To illustrate the difference, consider the following example. A doctor conducting a surgery has a duty of his care to ensure that his patient is not subject to unnecessary risk (although all surgeries carry with them some amount of risk). The actions he takes to ensure that this duty is fulfilled are part of the process of due diligence. Typically, the concept of due diligence is most often brought up in the financial world, where steps must be taken to make sure that investments are legitimate and fully live up to what they represent themselves to be.

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This article is not intended to serve as, or as a replacement for, legal advice. If you have been injured, physically or financially, as a result of someone else’s failure to exercise reasonable care, contact the Cincinnati personal injury lawyer, Shawn M. Stepleton, at 513-321-7733.