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Glite Dictionary
cause of action

cause of action

8 8.2
A set of facts that lets a person ask a court to fix a wrong
  • noun
  • /kɔz əv ˈækʃən/
  • Formal
: causa de acción
  • The judge ruled that the plaintiff did not have a valid cause of action to pursue in court.
  • nuisance cause of action
  • private cause of action
  • common cause of action

Law school is all about applying the law, applying the concept of the causes of action and the premises to the facts themselves.

Examples

  • 54. The nature of the injury dictated the cause of action a plaintiff could pursue.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The trial court did not distinguish between these two separate causes of action, and it also refused to award punitive damages.

  • Such claims can be attached to a variety of formal charges and causes of action.

    Academic text (1995)

  • "There are two other causes of action related to the use of police powers and constitutional issues."

    Academic text (1999)

  • The trial court dismissed her complaint for failure to state A cause of action, and the instant court reversed.

  • Law school is all about applying the law, applying the concept of the causes of action and the premises to the facts themselves.

    LegalEagle

  • Some statutes create a private cause of action for breach.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Clearly, the courts have not granted a cause of action on claims of "academic" educational malpractice.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The plaintiff, therefore, could not state a cause of action under the Federal Power Act for unreasonable rates.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Most states have eliminated nuisance as a cause of action for adjacent landowners by enacting Right to Farm Acts.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

right of action
vscause of action
  • Formal
1 8.4

A legal right to take someone to court

is the specific facts that create that legal ability

Surface Forms

cause of action singular
causes of action plural

Morphology

cause + of + action

The phrase is compositionally built: 'cause' = reason and 'action' (in its legal sense) = a lawsuit, so 'cause of action' literally means the reason for bringing a lawsuit. Although it is legal jargon, the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and follows a common 'cause/of/N' pattern, making it transparent to learners who know both words.

Etymology

Cause of action is a legal phrase made from simple words: cause (a reason) and action (a step or move). Imagine someone finding a reason and taking the step to go to court, so today the phrase means the facts that let you 'sue'.