Civil Action Definition: Any action that is not a criminal proceeding. In Roubos, Justice Berch wrote:"A civil action is commonly understood to be any action that is not a criminal prosecution." Often used in the context of certain proceedings which smack of criminal process but for which a determination of civil action is more appropriate. For example, contempt proceedings are genrally civil actions,1 as would a writ of habeas corpus2 and even a law suit relevant to the enforcement of a city noise by-law.3REFERENCES:In re Davitch, 336 BR 241 (United States Bankruptcy Court, Pennsylvania, 2006, note 1)Roubus v. Miller, 153 P. 3d 1045 (2007; note 3)Vacchio v. Ashcroft, 404 F. 3d 663 (United States Court of Appeals, 2005; note 2) Categories & Topics: Civil Litigation & Evidence Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!