A cause of action is the basis for a civil lawsuit, consisting of facts, circumstances, and legal grounds. It can arise from events, lack of action, breach of duty, or civil rights violations. Legal theory must be supported by facts, and multiple causes of action can be present in a suit.
A reason for action forms the basis for filing a civil suit. It includes all the facts, circumstances, and legal grounds that enable a plaintiff to seek damages from a defendant. A plaintiff must have sufficient cause to initiate a lawsuit. If a lawsuit is not properly filed, a judge may dismiss a plaintiff’s case early in the suit. In general, a cause of action is shaped by a legal theory in the first place, such as negligence or breach of contract. Legal theory must therefore be supported by facts.
For example, suppose a woman is shopping in a supermarket. Suppose further that the supermarket floor is wet and slippery from a leaking crate of produce, and there are no wet floor warning signs. If the woman slips, falls and injures herself, she could have a malpractice suit against the supermarket for not properly maintaining or warning about the condition of the floor. The legal theory in this lawsuit would be negligence, which is supported by the facts surrounding the slip and fall incident.
Causes of action can be triggered by a number of different events, and multiple causes of action can be present in a seed. They can arise from or relate to the actions of a person or entity. For example, say a man approaches a stranger on the street and the man starts punching and yelling at him. The stranger may have a reason for action against the man for assault as well as the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A person’s lack of action sometimes also gives rise to a cause of action. For example, a school has a certain duty of care to its students for the upkeep of the school grounds. Suppose the school has some old and rotten steps that students use daily to get in and out of the school building. If the school fails to fix the decaying steps and a student is subsequently injured on them, the student may have a cause of action against the school for malpractice.
Causes of action can also arise from a breach of a legal duty or obligation. For example, let’s say a supplier and a distributor have entered into a contract in which the supplier has agreed to supply a vat of widgets to the distributor by a certain date. If the vendor does not deliver the widgets by the specified date, the distributor can sue the vendor for breach of contract.
Violation of a person’s civil rights can also form the basis for a cause of action. Say, for example, a boss refuses to promote a woman in a company simply because the boss doesn’t want women in positions of power. In this case, the civil rights of the woman have been violated, which could initiate legal action against the company for gender discrimination.
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