Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Circuity of action is, when an action is rightfully brought for a duty, but yet about the bush, as it were, for that it might as well have been otherwise answered and determined, and the suit saved: a

Class suit

See CLASS ACTION.

Nonsuit

n. 1. A plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of a case or of a defendant, without a decision on the merits. 0 Under the Federal Rules of Civil procedure, a voluntary dismissal is equivalent to a nonsuit. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a). - Also termed voluntary discontinuance. 2. A court's dismissal of a case or of a defendant because the plaintiff' has failed to make out a legal case or to bring forward sufficient evidence. See judgment of nonsuit under JUDGMENT. - nonsuit, ub.

Pursuit

1. An occupation or pastime. 2. The act of chasing to overtake or apprehend. See FRESH PURSUIT.

Suit

Any proceeding by a party or parties against another in a court of law; CASE. - Also termed lawsuit; suit at law. See ACTION.

Suitable

adj. (Of goods, etc.) fit and appropriate for their intended purpose.

Suitas

n. [Law Latin] The status of a proper heir.

Suitor

1 A party that brings a lawsuit; a plaintiff or petitioner. 2. An individual or company that seeks to take over another company.

Suitors' Deposit Account

An account consisting of suitors' fees paid in the Court of Chancery that, by the Chancery Act of 1872, were to be invested in government securities bearing interest at 2% per annum on behalf of the investing suitor, unless the suitor directed otherwise.

Suitors' Fee Fund

Hist. A fund consisting largely of fees generated by the Court of Chancery out of which the court officers' salaries and expenses were paid. ( In 1869 the fund was transferred to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. suit papers See COURT PAPERS.

Suits in Admiralty Act

A federal law giving injured parties the right to sue the government in admiralty. 46 USCA app. §§ 741-752.

ancillary suit

see suit.

blackmail suit

A suit filed by a party having no genuine claim but hoping to extract a favorable settlement from a defendant who would rather avoid the expenses and hassles of litigation. class suit. See CLASS ACTION.

blackmail suit.

See SUIT

citizen suit

An action under a statute giving citizens the right to sue violators of the law (esp. environmental law) and to seek injunctive relief and penalties. 0 In the 1970s, during the heyday of antipollution statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, legislators believed that regulators sometimes become too close to the industries they oversee and, as a result, lack the aggressiveness that individual citizens would be able to bring to litigation. The statutes therefore included provisions authorizing people to be "private attorneys general" to protect the environment, seeking not only injunctions to stop pollution but also penalties to be paid to the U.S. Treasury.

common suit

See common plea under PLE,,,

compulsory nonsuit

See NONSUIT.

contestation of suit

Eccles. law. The point in an action when the defendant answers the plaintiff's libel (i.e., complaint); the plea and joinder of an issue. - Also termed contestatio litis.

creditor's suit

See CREDITOR'S BIl

deficiency suit

An action to recover the difference between a mortgage debt and the amount realized on foreclosure. See deficiency judgment under JUDGMENT.

derivative suit

See DERIVATIVE ACTION (1).

derivative suit.

See DERIVATIVE ACTION

droit de suite

n. [French "right to follow"] A creditor's right to recover a debtor's property after it passes to a third party.

exoneration, suit for

See SUIT FOR EXONERATION.

fresh pursuit.

1. The right of a police officer to make a warrantless search of a fleeing suspect or to cross jurisdictional lines to arrest a fleeing suspect. 2. The right of a person to use reasonable force to retake property that has just been taken. - Also termed hot pursuit.

friendly suit

A lawsuit in which all the parties have agreed beforehand to allow a court to resolve the issues. ( Friendly suits are often filed by settling parties who wish to have a judgment entered.

friendly suitor

See WHITE KNIGHT.

frivolous suit.

A lawsuit having no legal basis, often filed to harass or extort money from the defendant. FRM. See fixed-rate mortgage under MORTGAGE,

hot pursuit.

1. FRESH PURSUIT. 2. Int'l law. The legitimate chase of a foreign vessel on the high seas just after that vessel has violated the law of the pursuing state while within the pursuing state's jurisdiction.

judgment of nonsuit

1. Hist. The judgment given against a plaintiff who fails to be present in court to hear the jury render its verdict or who, after issue is joined, fails to bring the issue to be tried in due time. ( This judgment does not prevent the plaintiff from filing the same case again. 2. NONSUIT (2).

lawsuit

vb. Archaic. To proceed against (an adversary) in a lawsuit; to sue.

locality of a lawsuit

The place where a court may exercise judicial authority.

molliter manus imposuit

[Latin] Hist. He gently laid hands upon. ( This phrase was used in actions of trespass and assault to justify a defendant's use of force as reasonable, as when it was necessary to keep the peace.

most suitable use

See highest and best use.

most-suitable-use value

See optimal-use value under VALUE.

paternity suit.

A court proceeding to determine whether a person is the father of a child (esp. one born out of wedlock), usu. initiated by the mother in an effort to obtain child support. -Also termed paternity action; parentage action; bastardy proceeding.

plenary suit

An action that proceeds on formal pleadings under rules of procedure. Cf. summary proceeding under PROCEEDING.

production of suit

Common-law pleading. The plaintiff's burden to produce evidence to confirm the allegations made in the declaration.

pursuit of happiness

The principle - announced in the Declaration of Independence -that a person should be allowed to pursue the person's desires (esp. in regard to an occupation) without unjustified interference by the government.

reverse FOIA suit

A lawsuit by the owner of a trade secret to prevent an agency from releasing that secret to the general public. See FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

saving-to-suitors clause

Maritime law. A federal statutory provision that allows a party to bring suit in either state or federal court, but requires both courts to apply federal substantive law. - Also termed saving clause. 28 USCA § 1333(1).

shareholder derivative suit

See DERIVATIVE ACTION (1).

stockholder derivative suit

See DERIVATIVE ACTION (1).

strike suit

A suit (esp. a derivative action), often based on no valid claim, brought either for nuisance value or as leverage to obtain a favorable or inflated settlement.

suit at law

See SUIT.

suit for exoneration

A suit in equity brought by a surety to compel the debtor to pay the creditor. ( If the debtor has acted fraudulently and is insolvent, a suit for exoneration may include further remedies to ensure that the debtor's assets are applied equitably to the debtor's outstanding obligations. - Also termed suit to compel payment.

suit money

Attorney's fees and court costs allowed or awarded by a court; esp., in some jurisdictions, a husband's payment to his wife to cover her reasonable attorney's fees in a divorce action.

suit of a civil nature

A civil action. See civil action under ACTION.

suit pro laesione fidei

n. [Latin "for injury to faith"] Hist. Eccles. law. A suit in ecclesiastical court for spiritual offenses against conscience, nonpayment of debts, or a civil breach of contract. ( This attempt to turn the ecclesiastical courts into courts of equity was abolished in 1164.

suit to compel payment

See SUIT FOR EXONERATION.