action at law
- noun
- /ˈækʃən æt lɔ/
- Formal
:
acción legal
- When you believe your property rights have been infringed, you can initiate an action at law to protect your interests.
Examples
-
The plaintiff would then be faced with the very problem he seeks to avoid by this motion: that is, the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court could be questioned because the prior action at law had not been dismissed prior to the filing of the libel in the United States Court.
Academic text (2017) -
The United States District Court has recently indicated that unless the prior action at law against the general agent was dismissed prior to the filing of the libel solely on the ground that the general agent was the improper party to be sued, the U.S. District Court could not properly entertain jurisdiction.
Academic text (2017) -
She filed an action at law to recover damages for the injury she sustained in the accident.
-
An action at law allows individuals to seek justice when their rights have been violated.
Synonyms
719
4.8
A person or company brings a claim to court to get a legal decision
425
5.6
A case one person brings against another in court to get a decision
407
6.8
A court case in which one person sues another
119
7.7
To use the courts to settle a dispute
42
3.8
A court process to solve a dispute when someone sues another
27
3.5
A court case between two people or groups who disagree about legal rights
12
4.8
A formal set of actions in court that a judge uses to decide a dispute
7
5.3
A legal case to get money or fix a private wrong, not a criminal case
Surface Forms
Morphology
The overall sense is largely compositional: combining 'action' (a proceeding) with 'law' points to a legal proceeding, so a learner who knows the words can infer a general meaning of a legal action. However, 'action at law' is a formal, technical legal phrase (with historical/technical contrasts such as actions in equity) that a B1 learner may not fully grasp in its precise legal sense, making it partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
The phrase action at law began as a clear picture: a formal action or step taken at the place of the law, the court. Imagine someone going into court to start that step to get money or to stop a wrong, so it now means 'a court case' where one person 'sues' another.