Also known as: pure questions of law · question of law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal issue resolved by application of legal principles to undisputed facts, committed to the court rather than the jury.
Phoebe Park and Perry Pratt sue Pinnacle Holdings in one action after both suffered losses from the same corporate policy. The court must decide whether their claims present a common question of law. That determination is a pure question of law for the judge and controls whether joinder is permitted.
Patriot Insurance moves to intervene in an ongoing suit between Prism Analytics and Prosperity Investments. The insurer asserts a defense that overlaps with the main action on a key legal point. The court treats the overlap inquiry as a pure question of law when ruling on the motion.
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Parker Phillips seeks habeas relief based on a Supreme Court decision issued after his conviction became final. The court must decide whether that decision applies retroactively. Resolution of the retroactivity issue is a pure question of law decided by the judge.
Paul Peterson sues for infringement of a mechanical patent. The parties dispute the meaning of a key term in the claims. The court resolves the meaning as a pure question of law before any factual infringement issues reach the jury.
Pavel Petrov seeks immediate appeal of an order compelling production of privileged documents. The court must determine whether the order satisfies the collateral order criteria. That determination is a pure question of law.
Phuong Pham moves for summary judgment in a defamation action. The court must decide whether any genuine dispute of material fact exists. Application of the summary judgment standard is a pure question of law.
The judge decides a pure question of law. The court resolves such issues as preliminary matters before evidence is presented to the jury.
A pure question of law satisfies the common-question requirement when the same legal issue will arise for all plaintiffs. The judge determines whether that requirement is met.
A controlling pure question of law with substantial ground for difference of opinion may support an immediate appeal if it materially advances termination of the litigation.
Whether a writing is completely or partially integrated is a pure question of law decided by the court as a threshold matter before applying the parol evidence rule.
…Tennessee, such persons being so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring them all before the court; that there is a common question of law involved, namely, the constitutionality of Tennessee laws set forth in the Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-101 through Section 3-109, inclusive; that common relief is sought against all…