Which quality of evidence concerns the legal significance of proving an element of the claim?

• A. Relevance
• B. Discovery
• C. Deposition
• D. Materiality

Answer: (D)

Materiality is the quality that concerns whether a fact has legal significance for proving an element of the claim. In deciding a claim, you must establish each element; an item of evidence is material if its existence or absence would influence the outcome because it bears on whether that element is satisfied. Relevance asks if evidence tends to prove or disprove a fact, but it must also be material to the specific issue to actually affect the decision. Discovery and deposition relate to obtaining information, not the quality of evidence with regard to the claim’s elements. For example, evidence about where a loss happened is material if it directly affects whether the loss occurred within the policy period, which is a key element of the claim.