A claim for relief is a particular set of facts that one party puts forth in a pleading in court to establish that they have a right to recover against a defendant. Stating a claim for relief is a synonym for stating a cause of action.
Attempting to file a lawsuit in which no claim for relief is present will result in the dismissal of that lawsuit under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. As established in Ashcroft v. Iqbal and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, a claim for relief must be plausible on its face and establish more than the mere possibility that the defendant is liable to survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.
Furthermore, a claim for relief must be stated at the pleading state of litigation. A party cannot utilize the tools of discovery until a claim for relief which survives a 12(b)(6) motion is established.
See e.g.; White v. Baca, CV 13-03401 JFW (SSx) (C.D. Cal. Apr. 25, 2014)
[Last updated in August of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
- Keywords