Following is an example of good drafting following an “if-then” formulation:
If Party A suffers any losses as a result of environmental contamination of Property X arising from actions of Party B, then Party B shall compensate Party A for the full amount of such losses.
Thus, the components of a claim for compensation under this provision are (i) losses (ii) suffered by Party A (iii) as a result of environmental contamination (iv) of Property X (v) arising from actions of Party B.
Of course, analysis is not exclusive to lawyers. In ordinary social life, we might ask whether an associate or friend has lied to us. In order to do so, we might ask ourselves, what are the components of lying? Let’s say that in your community (we will stay out of the legal system for now) the consensus-based components are the following: (i) the alleged liar must speak, (ii) the speech must be false, (iii) the speaker must know that it is false, (iv) the false speech must be intended to hurt another, and (v) the false speech must actually hurt another.
We all know about difficulties with some of these components. Is a “white lie” (where no one is hurt, or where no hurt is intended) a lie? Is silence in the face of another’s misapprehension of the facts a lie? The best analytical approach is to determine the elements that are required and then to determine whether each element is present. In a legal system, a legislator determines which elements are required, while a court determines whether each element is present.
