Cause of action

Under the law, a cause of action is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party.^[1] It means literally the cause or reason why a party can make a legal case under the law.^[2] The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings a lawsuit (such as breach of contract, battery, or false imprisonment). The legal document which carries a claim is often called a Statement of Claim in English law,^[3] or a Complaint in U.S. federal practice and in many U.S. states. A complaint identifies the court's jurisdiction, the alleged facts and the relief the plaintiff wants.^[4] It can be any communication notifying the party to whom it is addressed of an alleged fault which resulted in damages. This is often expressed in amount of money the receiving party should pay or reimburse.

1. ↑ "Cause of Action – Nolo's Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions". Nolo.com. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
2. ↑ Henry Campbell Black, A Law Dictionary: Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of Legal Jurisprudence... (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1910), p. 178
3. ↑ Henry Campbell Black, A Law Dictionary: Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of Legal Jurisprudence... (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1910), p. 1106
4. ↑ Jonathan Wallace; Susan Ellis Wild, Webster's New World Law Dictionary (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010), p. 83