Friendly suit, also known as a collusive suit or action, is a lawsuit brought by two parties, not as adversaries, but by agreement in order to resolve a legal question that affects them both. For example, two companies might bring a friendly suit to court in order to clarify the legal interpretation of a contract between them.
In First Sav. & Loan Ins. Corp. v. Alexander, 590 F. Supp. 834, the court noted that a friendly suit is a suit in which “there is no actual dispute between the parties, and one party controls the litigation so as to bring about a predetermined result.”
[Last updated in May of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]