| Cause Of Action |
Article Index for Cause |
Website Links For Cause |
Information AboutCause Of Action |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CAUSE OF ACTION | |
| civil procedure | |
|
In the law, a cause of action is a recognized kind of legal claim that a plaintiff ; Torts such as Injury , Invasion Of Privacy , Fraud , Slander , Malpractice , Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress ; suits at Equity . "Cause of action" encompasses both the '' Legal Theory '' of what legal wrong the plaintiff claims to have suffered, and the '' Remedy ,'' which is what a court is allowed to order the defendant to do to compensate the plaintiff for that wrong. The points a plaintiff must prove to win a given type of case are called the "elements" of that cause of action. For the cause of action of Negligence , for example, the elements are (existence of a) Duty , breach (of that duty), causation (by that breach), and Damages (incurred by the plaintiff). If a complaint does not allege facts to support every element of the cause of action it describes, the court will dismiss the complaint for ''failure to state a claim,'' for which relief can be granted. The respondent to a cause of action may plead denials or Affirmative Defense s. Most defenses must be raised in the pleadings or by motion or are waived at trial. A few defenses, in particular a court's lack of subject matter Jurisdiction , need not be pleaded and may be raised at any time. |
|
|