Personal jurisdiction refers to a court’s authority to adjudicate the rights and liability of the defendant. Before a court can exercise power over a party, the U.S. Constitution requires that the party has certain minimum contacts with the...
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
(Wex page)
Pleading is one of the first stages of a lawsuit. In a pleading, the parties formally submit their claims and the defenses against the opposition’s claims. The parties can make specific pleas, such as a guilty plea or a not guilty plea....
(Wex page)
Res judicata is a principle most used in civil litigation. Directly translated, res judicata means “a matter judged.” Specifically, the res judicata principle indicates that if there is a final judgment based on merits, then another plaintiff...
(Wex page)
A summary judgment is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party without a full trial.
OverviewIn civil cases, either party may make a pre-trial motion for summary judgment.
Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of...
(Wex page)
Temporary restraining orders (TRO) are short-term pre-trial temporary injunctions. To obtain a TRO, a party must convince the judge that he or she will suffer immediate irreparable injury unless the order is issued. If the judge is convinced that a...
(LIIBULLETIN preview)
Unitherm Food Systems ("Unitherm"), a manufacturer and supplier of food processing machinery, sued Swift-Eckrich, doing business as ConAgra Refrigerated Foods ("ConAgra"), for defrauding the Patent Office, misrepresenting itself to Unitherm, improperly...