The method uses the plaintiff's own historical performance as the baseline, comparing pre-event results to actual post-event results and attributing the difference to the defendant's conduct.
It requires a stable pre-event operating history.
Alternative Names:
Before and After Approach, Historical Comparison Method
Why it Matters?
The method attributes all post-event decline to the defendant, which ignores market conditions, competition, management changes, and general economic movement occurring in the same period. Establishing that industry-wide results declined similarly is the standard rebuttal and frequently accounts for much of the claimed loss. A business already trending downward before the event presents the clearest version of that argument.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard rebuttal?
When is the method weakest?
