Also known as: decide · decides · decided · deciding · decisions · ruling · judgment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial or agency determination after consideration of the facts and the law. The determination resolves disputed issues and produces a ruling, order, or judgment that binds the parties.
Dakota Industries defaulted on its mortgage to Desert Oil. After the foreclosure sale produced proceeds below the outstanding debt, Desert Oil decided to pursue a deficiency judgment against Dakota Industries for the shortfall. The court entered the judgment because state law permitted it.
Judge Delgado faced pressure from her brother-in-law to rule favorably for his company in a pending contract dispute. She decided the case strictly on the evidence and law, refusing to let the relationship affect her judgment.
Diana Delgado instructed her lawyer to reject a settlement offer in her personal-injury suit. The lawyer decided to follow that instruction and proceeded to trial rather than accept the proposed amount.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Delilah Duran discovered that the landlord had failed to maintain the leased warehouse. She decided to terminate the lease, vacated the premises, and notified the landlord in writing of her reasons.
In a diversity action, the district court decided whether to apply a state evidentiary presumption or a federal practice when no on-point federal rule existed. The court weighed state and federal interests before selecting the governing rule.
After the buyer repudiated a contract for identified goods, the seller decided to sue for the price. The seller held the goods for the buyer until resale became feasible and then credited the net proceeds against the judgment.
A final decision resolves all claims as to all parties and leaves nothing for the court to do except execute the judgment. An interlocutory decision addresses only some issues and ordinarily is not immediately appealable.
Supporting sources
The client controls the objectives of representation, including whether to settle. The lawyer ordinarily decides the means of achieving those objectives after consultation, unless the client has directed otherwise.
The tenant must vacate while the right to terminate exists, follow any lease-prescribed method, and take reasonable steps to notify the landlord of the decision and its reason.
…to be one. The power does not depend on implication alone; it has been recognized by legislative provision and in judicial decisions. Congress, by a law passed at the first session after the adoption of the Constitution (the Judiciary Act), expressly gave the Supreme Court the power of issuing writs of mandamus. The…