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Cause of action

A set of predefined factual elements that allow for a legal remedy.  The factual elements needed for a specific cause of action can come from a constitution, statute, judicial precedent, or administrative regulation.

See Claim and Civil procedure.

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

A specific legal claim -- such as for negligence, breach of contract, or medical malpractice -- for which a plaintiff seeks compensation. Each cause of action is divided into discrete elements, all of which must be proved to present a winning case. A complaint often states multiple causes of action, and each cause of action is made up of certain required elements -- for example, a cause of action for breach of contract must show offer, acceptance, transfer of something of value, and breach of the agreement.

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:12 pm

 

The tort of battery is a cause of action consisting of the following factual elements:

     (1) the intentional

     (2) causation of

     (3) a harmful or offensive contact

     (4) with the plaintiff's person.

To sue someone for the tort of battery, a plaintiff must allege that each of the above elements actually happened in this case.  To win, the plaintiff must then prove the allegations.  Of course, the specific state's law must be consulted to confirm the elements required for a cause of action, and to understand how those elements have been interpreted in that state.

 "While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the 'grounds' of his 'entitle[ment] to relief' requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do."

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal citations omitted).