Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A proceeding brought by one party against another in a court of law to obtain remedies such as damages.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Inconsistent Special Verdict Prompts New Trial Motion
After a jury trial in federal court, Maya Ortiz and other sales associates obtained a defense verdict from LuxeBay Retailers Inc. on their discrimination claims. The special verdict form nevertheless contained internally inconsistent answers about whether the manager made discriminatory comments. The associates moved for a new trial under Rule 59. The court granted the motion because the inconsistency supplied a traditional ground for relief in a suit at law.
Transient Presence Supports Personal Jurisdiction
Steven Silva was served with process while visiting California on business. The plaintiff sued him in state court for breach of contract seeking damages. Silva moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court upheld jurisdiction because service on a defendant physically present in the forum has long been recognized as valid in a suit at law.
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Federal Rules
Restatements
Dictionaries
Burnham v. Superior Court of Cal., County of Marin495 U.S. 604, 618, 110 S.Ct. 2105, 109 L.Ed.2d 631 (1990)
State Statute of Limitations Bars Federal Claim
Simon Stern filed a federal diversity action seeking damages for breach of contract. The claim would have been timely under federal equitable principles but was barred by the state statute of limitations. The court dismissed the suit because the action at law was governed by state limitations rules.
Guaranty Trust Co. v. York[326 U.S.] at 110
Section 1983 Action Proceeds as Suit at Law
Sean Steele sued city police officers in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for damages arising from an unlawful search. The defendants argued the claim sounded in equity. The court rejected the argument and allowed the case to proceed as a suit at law for monetary relief.
Monroe v. Pape365 U.S. 167, 174
State Sovereign Immunity Bars Damages Action
Solomon Silver sued the state of Maine in its own courts for overtime wages under federal law. The state asserted sovereign immunity. The court dismissed the suit at law because Congress had not validly abrogated the state's immunity from private damages actions.
Alden v. Maine527 U.S. 706 (1999)
Offensive Collateral Estoppel Applied in Later Suit
Sofia Stern sued Parklane Hosiery Co. for damages after the SEC had already obtained an injunction against the company in an earlier proceeding. The court permitted the plaintiff to use offensive issue preclusion. The prior equitable judgment supplied findings that bound the defendant in the subsequent suit at law.
Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore439 U.S. 322, 334 (1979)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What distinguishes a suit at law from a suit in equity?+
A suit at law seeks remedies such as damages that were historically available in courts of law. A suit in equity seeks remedies such as injunctions or specific performance that were historically available only in courts of equity. Modern procedure has merged the two systems but the distinction still determines whether a jury trial is available and which defenses apply.
Does Rule 59(a)(1)(A) apply only to suits at law?+
Yes. Rule 59(a)(1)(A) authorizes a new trial after a jury verdict for any reason that historically supported a new trial in an action at law. Rule 59(a)(1)(B) separately addresses new trials after nonjury trials by reference to rehearings in suits in equity.
Can a party obtain specific performance in a suit at law?+
No. Specific performance is an equitable remedy unavailable in a suit at law. A plaintiff seeking specific performance must proceed in equity where the court may refuse relief if the bargain is unconscionable even though damages would be available at law.
How does the distinction between suit at law and suit in equity affect jury trials?+
The Seventh Amendment preserves the right to a jury trial in suits at law. Claims that would have been tried to a jury in 1791 receive jury trials today. Equitable claims historically tried to the court alone do not carry a jury right even when joined with legal claims.
5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803)Property
…whenever he receives an injury. It is a general rule that where there is a legal right there is also a legal remedy by suit or action at law. The government of the United States is a government of laws and not of men; it will cease to deserve that appellation if the laws furnish no remedy for the violation of vested legal…