Complaint

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Complaint

In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government

Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
, etc. In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the basic facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action

Cause of action

In the law, a cause of action 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 ....
) that the filing party (the plaintiff

Plaintiff

A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy, and if successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order ....
s) believes are sufficient to support a claim against another person, persons, entity or entities (the defendant

Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally indictment or accused of violating a crime statute....
s) that entitles the plaintiff(s) to a 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....
(either money damages or injunctive relief).

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Encyclopedia

In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government

Local government

Cause of action

Plaintiff

Defendant

Legal remedy

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are rules governing civil procedure in United States district courts, that is, court procedures for civil suits....
that govern civil litigation in United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
courts provide that a civil action is commenced with the filing or service of a pleading called a complaint. Civil court rules in states that have incorporated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure use the same term for the same pleading.

In some jurisdictions, certain types of criminal cases may also be commenced by the filing of a complaint, also sometimes called a criminal complaint or felony complaint. All criminal cases are prosecuted in the name of the governmental authority that promulgates criminal statutes and enforces the police power

Police power

Police power is the capacity of a state to regulate behaviours and enforce order within its territory, often framed in terms of public welfare, security, morality, and safety....
of the state with the goal of seeking criminal sanctions

Sanctions (law)

Sanctions are wikt:penalty or other means of wikt:enforcement used to provide wikt:incentive for wikt:obedient with the law, or with rules and regulations....
, such as the State (also sometimes called the People) or Crown (in Commonwealth Realms). In the United States, the complaint is often associated with misdemeanor criminal charges presented by the prosecutor without the grand jury process. In most U.S. jurisdictions, the charging instrument presented to and authorized by a grand jury

Grand jury

In the common law, a grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether there is enough evidence for a Criminal procedure. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments, or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing Wiktionary:presentments....
is referred to as an indictment

Indictment

In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense. In those jurisdictions which retain the concept of a felony, the serious criminal offense would be a felony; those jurisdictions which have abolished the concept of a felony often substitute the concept of an indictable offenc...
.

In many U.S. jurisdictions, a complaint submitted to a court must be accompanied by a Case Information Statement

Case Information Statement

A Case Information Statement is a document which is filed with a court clerk at the commencement of a Civil law lawsuit in many of the State courts of the United States....
, which sets forth certain key information about the case and the lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
s representing the parties

Party (law)

A 'party' is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law.Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in civil litigation, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the plaintiff, or, in older American cases, the party of the first p...
. This allows the judge to make determinations about which deadlines to set for different phases of the case, as it moves through the court system. Kristine Vorshuk a nurse at Metropolitan Hospital in Windsor, Ontario was disciplined in August 2008. A complaint had been brought forward by a patient.

In certain countries, (for example Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
and the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
and many countries of the European Community

European Community

The European Community is one of the three pillars of the European Union created under the Maastricht Treaty . It is based upon the principle of supranationalism and has its origins in the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union....
), the making of consumer complaints, particularly regarding the sale of financial services, is governed by statute

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy....
. The statutory authority may require companies to reply to complaints within set time limits, publish written procedures for handling customer dissatisfaction and provide information about arbitration schemes.

Complaint

See also

External links