Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Complaint

1. The initial pleading that starts a civil action and states the basis for the court's jurisdiction, the basis for the plaintiffs claim, and the demand for relief. 0 In some states, this pleading is called a petition. 2. Criminal law. A formal charge accusing a person of an offense. Cf. INDICTMENT; INFORMATION.

Plaintiff

The party who brings a civil suit in a court of law. - Abbr. pltf. Cf. DEFENDANT.

allegations-of-the-complaint rule

see eightcorners rule.

amended complaint

A complaint that modifies and replaces the original complaint by adding relevant matters that occurred before or at the time the action began. 0 In some circumstances, a party must obtain the court's permission to amend its complaint.

bill of complaint.

See BILL (2).

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

class representative. A person who sues on behalf of a group of plaintiffs in a class action. - Also termed named plaintiff

See CLASS ACTION.

coplaintiff.

One of two or more plaintiffs in the same litigation. Cf. CODEFENDANT.

cross-complaint

1 A claim asserted by a defendant against another party to the action. 2. A claim asserted by a defendant against a person not a party to the action for a matter relating to the subject of the action.

double complaint

See DUPLEX QUERELA.

fresh complaint

A reasonably prompt lodging of a grievance; esp., a victim's prompt report of a sexual assault to someone trustworthy.

fresh-complaint rule.

The theory that the credibility of a sexual-assault victim is bolstered if the victim reports the assault soon after it occurs. 0 Most courts no longer recognize this theory.

lessor of the plaintiff

Hist. The true party in interest prosecuting an action for ejectment. ( At common law, an ejectment action theoretically was only for the recovery of the unexpired term of the lease. Conventions of pleadings at the time required the true plaintiff to grant a fictitious lease, thereby becoming a lessor, to an equally fictitious plaintiff in whose name the action would be prosecuted.

named plaintiff

See class representative under REPRESENTATIVE.

plaint

1.Archaic a comokaint,esp. one filed in a replevin action see complaint (1) 2 civil law a complaint or petition, esp. one intended to set aside an allegedly invalid testament.

plaintiff in error

Archaic. See APPELLANT; PETITIONER.

plaintiff's-viewpoint rule

The principle that courts should measure the amount in controversy in a case by analyzing only the amount of damages claimed by the plaintiff. plain-touch doctrine See PLAIN-FEEL DOCTRINE.

plea to the person of the plaintiff

A plea in abatement alleging that the plaintiff has a legal disability to sue.

preliminary complaint

A complaint issued by a court to obtain jurisdiction over a criminal suspect for a hearing on probable cause or on whether to bind the suspect over for trial.

supplemental complaint

An additional complaint that either corrects a defect in the original complaint or adds relevant matters that occurred after the action began. 9 Generally, a party must obtain the court's permission to file a supplemental complaint.

third party complaint

A complaint filed by the defendant against a third party, alleging that the third party may be liable for some or all of the damages that the plaintiff is trying to recover from the defendant.

third-party plaintiff

A defendant who files a pleading in an effort to bring a third party into the lawsuit. See third party complaint under COMPLAINT.

use plaintiff

Common-law pleading. A plaintiff for whom an action is brought in another's name. ( For example, when the use plaintiff was an assignee ("A") of a chose in action and had to sue in someone else's name, the assignor ("B") would appear first on the petition's title: "B for the Use of A against C." - Also termed usee.

well pleaded complaint

An original or initial pleading that sufficiently sets forth a claim for relief - by including the grounds for the court's jurisdiction, the basis for the relief claimed, and a demand for judgment -so that a defendant may draft an answer that is responsive to the issues presented. ( A well-pleaded complaint must raise a controlling issue of federal law for a federal court to have federal-question jurisdiction over the lawsuit.

well-pleaded complaint

See COMPLAINT.