A bill filed for the purpose of reviving and continuing a suit in equity when the suit has been abated before final consummation. • The most common cause of such an abatement is the death of either the plaintiff or the defendant. [Cases: Equity 303.]
action n. (1)诉讼 指为实现个人权利、阻止个人非法行为或惩罚犯罪等而在法院进行的一种程序。在今天，action可以指各种诉讼，但在英国1873-1875年《司法组织法》〔Judicature Acts〕之前，action或action at law通常仅指普通法上的诉讼，以区别于衡平法上的诉讼〔suit in equity〕。在当时，原告要提起普通法上的诉讼，必须遵守严格的诉讼程式〔forms of action〕；在诉讼种类上，被划分为不动产诉讼〔real action〕、动产诉讼〔personal action〕和混合诉讼〔mixed action〕三种。现在，所有的诉讼形式都已被废除，原告在起诉时只需说明其根据的事实及请求的救济即可。在早期，action在比较广泛的意义上使用，包括刑事诉讼〔criminal action〕和民事诉讼〔civil action〕，前者是以国王或国家的名义提起的，后者则是以公民个人的名义提起的。但是，在今天，action更多的被用来指民事诉讼，而刑事诉讼则被称作「prosecutions」以示区别。在诉讼分类上一般分为对人诉讼〔action in personam〕和对物诉讼〔action in rem〕。现在，由于普通法和衡平法已合并，均通过同一种程序来实施，因此action和suit经常被作为同义词互换使用。 (2)行为；作为 (→suit; forms of action; cause of action)
A civil suit stating a legal cause of action and seeking only a legal remedy. See suit at law and suit in equity under SUIT.
complainant (k[schwa]m-playn-[schwa]nt). 1. The party who brings a legal complaint against another; esp., the plaintiff in a court of equity or, more modernly, a civil suit. “A suit in equity, under the procedure of the English Court of Chancery, which was generally adopted in the American States prior to the code, is instituted by the
clean-hands doctrine. The principle that a party cannot seek equitable relief or assert an equitable defense if that party has violated an equitable principle, such as good faith. • Such a party is described as having “unclean hands.” For example, § 8 of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act contains an unclean-hands provision that forbids
clean hands doctrine Read More »
An equitable bill filed by one who is threatened with multiple suits involving the same right, or with recurrent suits on the same right, asking the court to determine the question once and for all, and to enjoin the plaintiffs from proceeding with the threatened litigation. • One situation involves many persons having a common
A bill bringing to court new parties and interests arising from events that occur after the suit is filed. • A supplemental bill, in contrast, involves parties or interests already before the court. [Cases: Equity 294.]
bill in the nature of a supplemental bill Read More »
A procedure allowing duplicative lawsuits, leading to unnecessarily lengthy and indirect liti-gation, as when a defendant fails to bring a counterclaim, but later brings a separate action to recover what could have been awarded in the original lawsuit. • Civil-procedure rules have eliminated many problems associated with circuity of action. [Cases: Equity 52. C.J.S. Equity
circuity of action Read More »
cross-claim, n. A claim asserted between codefendants or coplaintiffs in a case and that relates to the subject of the original claim or counterclaim. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(g). — Also termed cross-action; cross-suit. Cf. COUN-TERCLAIM. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 786; Pleading 147, 148, 149; Set-off and Counterclaim 10.] — cross-claim, vb. — cross-claimant,
A postjudgment bill of review filed by someone who was neither a party to the original suit nor bound by the decree sought to be reversed. — Also termed supplemental bill in the nature of a bill of review. [Cases: Equity 442.]
bill in the nature of a bill of review Read More »