Use the following sequence for difficult attribution cases:
1. Identify the precise ruling: liability, obligation, validity, invalidity or concession.
2. Identify the initial act: did it only facilitate the outcome, or directly produce it?
3. Examine any intermediary: did another agent act independently?
4. Check for a pre-existing duty, such as custody of a trust or legally significant testimony.
5. Separate conditions and proxies: is the ruling attached to an outward marker because the underlying state is difficult to establish?
This procedure gives a reasoned legal attribution instead of assuming that the earliest event is automatically the operative cause.