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Cause of action
 
 
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In the law, a cause of action (sometimes called a claim
Claim (legal)

A claim is a legal action to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party. The legal document which carries a claim is called a Statement of Claim....
) is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue. The phrase may refer to the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings suit (such as breach of contract
Breach of contract

Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
, battery
Battery (tort)

At common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them ....
, or false imprisonment
False imprisonment

False imprisonment is a tort, and possibly a crime, wherein a person is intentionally confined without legal authority....
).

To pursue a cause of action, a plaintiff pleads
Pleading

In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer....
 or alleges
Allegation

An allegation is a claim of a fact by a party in a pleading, which the party claims to be able to prove. Allegations remain assertions without proof, until they can be proved....
 facts in a complaint
Complaint

In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government, etc. In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the basic facts and legal reasons that the filing party believes are sufficient to support a claim against another person, persons, entity...
, the pleading that initiates a lawsuit. A cause of action generally encompasses both the legal theory (the legal wrong the plaintiff claims to have suffered) and the remedy
Legal remedy

A legal remedy is the means with which a court of law, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a sentence , or makes some other court order to impose its will....
 (the relief a court is asked to grant).






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In the law, a cause of action (sometimes called a claim
Claim (legal)

A claim is a legal action to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party. The legal document which carries a claim is called a Statement of Claim....
) is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue. The phrase may refer to the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings suit (such as breach of contract
Breach of contract

Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
, battery
Battery (tort)

At common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them ....
, or false imprisonment
False imprisonment

False imprisonment is a tort, and possibly a crime, wherein a person is intentionally confined without legal authority....
).

To pursue a cause of action, a plaintiff pleads
Pleading

In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer....
 or alleges
Allegation

An allegation is a claim of a fact by a party in a pleading, which the party claims to be able to prove. Allegations remain assertions without proof, until they can be proved....
 facts in a complaint
Complaint

In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government, etc. In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the basic facts and legal reasons that the filing party believes are sufficient to support a claim against another person, persons, entity...
, the pleading that initiates a lawsuit. A cause of action generally encompasses both the legal theory (the legal wrong the plaintiff claims to have suffered) and the remedy
Legal remedy

A legal remedy is the means with which a court of law, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a sentence , or makes some other court order to impose its will....
 (the relief a court is asked to grant). Often the facts or circumstances that entitle a person to seek judicial relief may create multiple causes of action.

There are a number of specific causes of action, including: contract
Contract

A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do, or refrain from doing, an act which is enforceable in a court of law. It is a binding legal agreement....
-based actions; statutory causes of action; torts such as assault
Assault

Assault is a crime of violence against another human. In some jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand, assault refers to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, while in other jurisdictions, such as the United States, assault may refer only to the threat of violence caused by an immediate show of fo...
, battery
Battery (tort)

At common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them ....
, invasion of privacy
Invasion of privacy

United States privacy law embodies several different law concepts. One is the invasion of privacy, a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into his or her private affairs, discloses his or her private information, publicizes him or her in a false light, or app...
, fraud
Fraud

In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction....
, slander, negligence
Negligence

Negligence is a Law concept in the common law legal systems usually used to achieve compensation for injuries . Negligence is a type of tort or delict ....
, intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort claim of recent origin for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress....
; and suits in equity such as unjust enrichment
Unjust enrichment

Unjust enrichment is a legal term denoting a particular type of Causality in which one party is unjustly enriched at the expense of another, and an obligation to make restitution arises, regardless of liability for wrongdoing....
 and quantum meruit
Quantum meruit

Quantum meruit is a Latin phrase meaning "as much as he has deserved". This claim is also referred to as "unjust enrichment." In the context of contract law, it means something along the lines of "reasonable value of services"....
.

The points a plaintiff must prove to win a given type of case are called the "elements" of that cause of action. For example, for a claim of negligence
Negligence

Negligence is a Law concept in the common law legal systems usually used to achieve compensation for injuries . Negligence is a type of tort or delict ....
, the elements are: the (existence of a) duty
Duty

Duty is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition....
, breach (of that duty), proximate cause (by that breach), and damages
Damages

In law, damages refer to the money paid or awarded to a claimant , pursuer or plaintiff following a successful claim in a lawsuit....
. If a complaint does not allege facts sufficient to support every element of a claim, the court, upon motion by the opposing party, may dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

The defendant to a cause of action must file an "Answer" to the complaint in which the claims can be admitted, denied, or insufficient information to form a response. The answer may also contain counterclaims in which the "Counterclaim Plaintiff" states its own causes of action. Finally, the answer may contain affirmative defense
Affirmative defense

An affirmative defense is a category of defense used in litigation between private parties in common law jurisdictions, or, more familiarly, a type of defense raised in criminal law by the defendant....
s. Most defenses must be raised at the first possible opportunity either in the answer or by motion or are deemed waived. A few defenses, in particular a court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
, need not be plead and may be raised at any time.

See also

  • Form of action
    Form of action

    The Forms of Action were the different procedures by which a legal claim could be made in the early history of the English common law. While in modern English law, as in most other legal systems, the focus is on the substance underlying an action, such as the existence of a legal right, in the early Middle Ages, the focus was on the procedure...