Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

File

n. 1. A court's complete and official record of a case <the law clerk went to the courthouse to verify that the motion is in the file>. 2. A lawyer's complete record of a case <the paralegal stored the file in three drawers in her office>. 3. A portion or section of a lawyer's case record <the janitor found the correspondence file behind the copy machine>. 4. A case <Jonah was assigned the Watson file after Amy left the firm>.

affile

vb. archaic. to file.

charge and discharge. Equity practice. Court ordered account filings by a plaintiff and a defendant. ( The plaintiff's account (charge) and the defendant's response (discharge) were filed with a maste

defile

ub. 1. To make dirty; to physically soil. 2. To figuratively tarnish; to dishonor. 3. To make ceremonially unclean; to desecrate. 4. To morally corrupt (someone). 5. Archaic. To debauch (a person); to deprive (a person) of chastity.

defilement

n. 1. An act of defiling. 2. A condition of being defiled.

file wrapper

See PROSECUTION HISTORY.

file-wrapper estoppel

See PROSECUTIONHISTORY ESTOPPEL.

filed-rate doctrine

A common-law rule forbidding a regulated entity, usu. a common carrier, to charge a rate other than the one on file with the appropriate federal regulatory authority, such as (formerly) the Interstate Commerce Commission. - Also termed filed-tariff doctrine. See TARIFF (3).

first-to-file rule.

Civil procedure. 1. The principle that, when two suits are brought by the same parties, regarding the same issues, in two courts of proper jurisdiction, the court that first acquires jurisdiction usu. retains the suit, to the exclusion of the other court. ( The court with the second-filed suit ordinarily stays proceedings or abstains. But an exception exists if the first-filed suit is brought merely in anticipation of the true plaintiff's suit - as an improper attempt at forum-shopping. See ANTICIPATORY FILING. 2. The doctrine allowing a party to a previously filed lawsuit to enjoin another from pursuing a later-filed action. -Also termed first-filing rule; priority-jurisdiction rule

judgment file

See judgment docket under DOCKET.

rank and file

1. The enlisted soldiers of an armed force, as distinguished from the officers. 2. The general membership of a union.