Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, LLP

This case requires us to consider once again difficult issues of causation and foreseeability in tort law. We are asked to decide whether defendant, an accounting firm, may be held liable for damages suffered by plaintiff, its client, due to changes in the market price of plaintiffs stock that defendant’s negligent conduct did not cause. The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and the Court of Appeals reversed. Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, LLP, 176 Or App 317, 31 P3d 1092 (2001). We allowed review and, for the reasons that follow, reverse the…