cause of action
7
8.2
- 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.
- Law school is all about applying the law, applying the concept of the causes of action and the premises to the facts themselves.
Examples
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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.
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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.
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Law school is all about applying the law, applying the concept of the causes of action and the premises to the facts themselves.
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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
1
8.4
A legal right to take someone to court
Surface Forms
Morphology
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'.