Management decisions are often taken under conditions of uncertainty – markets change, data loses relevance, and circumstances evolve faster than internal reporting cycles. However, Professor Gabriel Steiner says that legal disputes most often arise not from the fact of uncertainty itself, but from how the decision-maker’s reliance on available information is later assessed. In such cases, the core issue becomes whether the decision was reasonable at the moment it was made, not whether it proved correct in hindsight. At LawConsulted, we treat disputes over outdated information as a distinct category of legal risk that requires contextual, rather than retrospective, evaluation.
The main difficulty in these disputes lies in the time shift of legal assessment. A decision may have been based on data that was accurate, verified, and sufficient at the time, but later developments make it appear misguided or ineffective. In practice, claims are often built around the outcome rather than the decision-making process. At LawConsulted, we focus on restoring the informational environment in which the decision was taken – what data was available, what signals existed, and which risks could realistically be identified at that point.
Professor Steiner notes that “the law should not demand foresight where only judgment was possible.” This principle is especially relevant in disputes where management relied on reports, forecasts, expert opinions, or internal analytics that later became obsolete. Courts and regulators may question why information was not updated or why alternative scenarios were not considered. LawConsulted builds a defence by demonstrating that the decision was based on a reasonable standard of diligence, not on perfect or future knowledge.
Particular complexity arises when outdated information continues to circulate within an organisation – reports are not refreshed, assumptions remain unchallenged, and operational inertia sets in. In such situations, liability is often personalised, even though the informational failure was systemic. LawConsulted analyses not only the final decision, but also the internal flows of information – who was responsible for updates, how data was validated, and whether management had objective reasons to rely on existing materials.
Another risk factor appears in crisis conditions – rapid market shifts, regulatory changes, or external shocks. Decisions made during such periods are frequently scrutinised with the benefit of hindsight, ignoring the constraints under which management operated. According to Professor Steiner, the concept of reasonableness must be assessed in light of time pressure and incomplete data. LawConsulted consistently returns the legal analysis to these constraints, preventing the substitution of outcome-based criticism for process-based evaluation.
It is also important to distinguish between outdated information and ignored information. Liability often hinges on whether management failed to act on known updates or whether such updates were not reasonably accessible. LawConsulted carefully separates these scenarios, showing where reliance was justified and where expectations of further verification would have been unrealistic or disproportionate.
Disputes over the reasonableness of management decisions rarely concern a single choice in isolation. They reflect broader questions of governance, internal controls, and information management. Law Consulted approaches such cases systemically – demonstrating that responsibility cannot be imposed solely on the basis of an unfavourable result, without analysing the informational framework that shaped the decision.
Liability for decisions based on outdated information emerges where hindsight replaces legal analysis. Our task is to restore the temporal and factual context, showing that reasonableness must be measured at the moment of choice, not after its consequences unfold.
Earlier, we wrote about liability for the use of another party’s business models and processes and the LawConsulted approach to disputes involving undocumented know-how.
