pray

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An antiquated term of art used to describe a formal request for judicial judgment, relief, or damages at the end of a pleading, i.e. a civil complaint. For example, in Chasin v. Richey, a 1957 Florida Supreme Court case, the Court stated that “under new rules of procedure, every complaint is considered to pray for general relief, and ordinarily it is the facts alleged, the issues and proof, and not the form of the prayer for relief, which determines the nature of the relief to be granted.” Now, a court would be more likely to state that a party demands or seeks relief or damages, instead of prays therefor.

[Last updated in September of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]