Also known as: thresholds
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A minimum level or point that must be reached or exceeded to trigger a legal consequence or satisfy a requirement.
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Tobias Thomas missed a filing deadline in a client's personal-injury suit, causing the claim to be dismissed. The client sued Thomas for malpractice and recovered damages. The state bar then brought disciplinary charges based on the same missed deadline. The court held that the single error did not meet the higher threshold needed to prove unfitness to practice law, so no discipline was imposed.
Theresa Tucker sought an abortion at twenty-three weeks. State law banned the procedure after viability. Medical evidence showed the fetus could not survive outside the womb. The court applied the viability threshold and permitted the abortion because the fetus had not yet crossed that line.
Tara Tran lived with her grandchildren in a single-family home. City zoning limited occupancy to nuclear families. Tran challenged the ordinance as a violation of substantive due process. The court first asked whether the zoning rule deprived her of a protected liberty interest and found that the threshold question was satisfied by her longstanding family living arrangement.
Tanner Thompson alleged that two telecommunications firms had agreed to divide markets. The complaint described parallel pricing but offered no facts suggesting prior communication. The court held that the allegations failed to cross the threshold required by Rule 8 because they were consistent with independent action rather than conspiracy.
Tessa Takahashi moved to quash a subpoena for presidential tapes. The district court denied the motion and ordered production. The president appealed before final judgment. The court first addressed the threshold issue of whether the order was appealable and concluded that it was not a final decision under the statute.
Thaddeus Tran bought a new car whose paint had been repaired before sale. The manufacturer never disclosed the repair. State law required disclosure only when repair costs exceeded a statutory threshold. Because the repair costs fell below that amount, the court held that the conduct did not meet the threshold for punitive damages under the state disclosure statute.
A single negligent act that supports a malpractice recovery does not automatically satisfy the higher threshold for professional discipline. Discipline requires conduct so gross that it demonstrates unfitness to practice law, while malpractice focuses on compensating the injured client.
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The viability threshold marks the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb. Before that point the woman's liberty interest prevails. After that point the state may regulate to protect potential life.
…II Accepting the cases as they are and the Due Process Clause as construed by them, however, I think it evident that the threshold question in any due process attack on legislation, whether the challenge is procedural or substantive, is whether there is a deprivation of life, liberty, or property. With respect to…
…in potential human life. The viability line reflects the biological facts and truths of fetal development; it marks that threshold
…for certiorari before judgment, which was granted June 15, and the case was set for argument July 8, 1974. I. JURISDICTION The threshold
…may not properly be viewed as immunizing from liability the nondisclosure of repairs costing less than the applicable statutory threshold
…need at the pleading stage for allegations plausibly suggesting (not merely consistent with) agreement reflects the threshold
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The Due Process Clause is triggered only by a deprivation of life, liberty, or property. Without first identifying such an interest, a court has no occasion to decide whether the challenged law violates substantive due process.
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A complaint must contain enough factual heft to make the claim plausible rather than merely possible. Parallel conduct alone does not cross that threshold unless additional facts suggest an agreement.
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Appealability is addressed first because only final decisions are reviewable under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. If the order is not final, the appellate court lacks jurisdiction and never reaches the merits.
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When a disclosure statute sets a monetary threshold below which nondisclosure is not actionable, conduct falling beneath that threshold cannot support punitive damages under the statute even if other remedies remain available.
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