Damages in negligent misrepresentation must arise from:

• A. The reliance on the misrepresentation
• B. A contract breach
• C. An independent tort
• D. An express promise

Answer: (A)

Damages for negligent misrepresentation are tied to the losses that come from relying on the false statement. The key idea is causation: you must show that you relied on the misrepresentation when making a decision, and that this reliance caused your loss. If the misrepresentation didn’t drive the loss, there’s no liability for this tort.

This differs from damages that would come from a contract breach, which arise when a contractual promise isn’t fulfilled. It also isn’t about some other independent tort or about an express promise creating a contract; in those cases the damages would flow from the contract breach or the other tort, not from relying on the misrepresentation itself.