Drawing the line between recoverable and irrecoverable financial loss turns on a handful of distinctions that must be applied with precision. This chapter starts with what makes economic loss 'pure' rather than consequential, then sets out the general bar on recovery for loss caused by negligent acts, including defective products, relational loss and the proprietary interest a claimant must hold. The main exception follows: negligent misstatement under a special relationship, built on assumption of responsibility and reasonable reliance, and the way disclaimers can prevent a duty arising or fall to be tested as exclusions of liability. It closes with when a duty reaches third parties such as auditors' addressees and disappointed beneficiaries, concurrent duties in contract and tort, and the scope-of-duty rules, advice and information cases, and contributory negligence that shape what is ultimately recoverable.
