Also known as: C.O.A. · cause of action · causes of action · certificate of appealability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A set of operative facts that gives a person the right to obtain judicial relief from another.
Attorney Elena Rivera represented client Marcus Hale in a personal-injury suit against a trucking company. After the case settled for a large sum, Rivera offered to purchase a twenty-percent interest in the remaining claims so she could share in any future recovery. The ethics board found that the proposed purchase violated the prohibition on acquiring a proprietary interest in the cause of action.
Resident Sophia Patel sued federal officers in district court alleging an unreasonable search that violated the Fourth Amendment. No statute expressly authorized a damages action for the violation. The court held that federal-question jurisdiction existed because Patel alleged a right to relief directly under the Constitution.
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Homeowner Derek Lang proved that a neighbor's tree roots had encroached on his property and caused minor cracking in a retaining wall. Lang offered no evidence of repair costs or diminution in value. The court entered judgment for Lang and awarded one dollar in nominal damages to vindicate the established cause of action.
After Charlotte Ruiz ended her engagement to Victor Morales, Morales filed suit alleging breach of promise to marry and sought damages for emotional distress and wedding expenses. The court dismissed the complaint because the state legislature had abolished the cause of action by statute.
While visiting State A for a three-day conference, executive Thomas Reed was served with process in a contract dispute arising from events in State B. The state court exercised personal jurisdiction over Reed because his physical presence in the forum at the time of service supported jurisdiction over the unrelated cause of action.
Investor Rachel Soto, a citizen of State X, filed a diversity action against a State Y corporation in federal court. Two weeks later Soto moved to State Y. The court retained subject-matter jurisdiction because diversity is assessed when the suit is instituted and later changes in citizenship do not destroy the cause of action.
No. A cause of action exists only when the facts satisfy the elements of a recognized legal theory that the law treats as giving rise to judicial relief.
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Generally no. A lawyer is prohibited from obtaining a proprietary interest in the cause of action or subject matter of litigation the lawyer is conducting for a client, subject to narrow exceptions for liens and contingent fees.
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Nominal damages may be awarded when the plaintiff has established every element of a cause of action but has not proved any compensable loss.
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No. Diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity only at the time the suit is filed. Subsequent changes in citizenship do not defeat jurisdiction once it has attached.
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…libel, of the officials of whom the government is composed. There is no legal alchemy by which a State may thus create the cause of action that would otherwise be denied for a publication which, as respondent himself said of the advertisement. "reflects not only on me but on the other Commissioners and the community." Raising…