Law · Legal Information · Justice
 

Litigation

A dispute is in 'litigation' ( or being 'litigated') when it has become the subject of a formal court action or law suit.

Bouvier called it:

"A contest, authorized by law, in a court of justice, for the purpose of enforcing a right."

BC Law Couirts imageIn Re Kent, a 1982 British Columbia Supreme Court decision, cited as 139 DLR 3d 318 (also published at 38 BCLR 216), the Court adopted these words:

"The term litigation encompasses the act of carrying on a legal proceeding. A legal proceeding connotes the resolution by a judicial tribunal of an issue between two parties."

The participants - plaintiff, defendant, applicant, petitioner or respondent - are called litigants for so long as the trial is ongoing.

Latest LagMag headlines:

It’s War: British Columbia Lawyers Take on the Judges and the AG

The PR tanks are rolling out in British Columbia as lawyers take up arms against a fundamental rule change proposal suggested not just by an elected Attorney General but in the back drop, in black gown and red sash, the sheepish grins of superior court judges.

The Art Of Trial: Private and Confidential!

Trial, for the layperson (read "non-lawyer") is a source of tremendous stress and nervousness. You rarely see standing-room only line-ups at the public galleries of the Courthouse. But for lawyers, they are masochistic labours of love; a chunk of time where the stress is through the roof but so, too, is the intensity.

China Politburo - Take A $%##@!@@ Hike

A lone student stands-down a row of four communist tanks and still, 19 years later, lawyers and international law experts with far less courage, ... tremble and wait.

Technorati Profile


Read earlier headlines »
Subscribe to stay in touch »


Switch to variable width

Switch to fixed width

Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

top