Legal glossary category
Civil Procedure
Browse 34 glossary entries in the Civil Procedure category, with short plain-English descriptions and direct links to the full term pages.
contemporaneously
If you promise to give your friend the toy *contemporaneously* with their birthday, it means right as they turn ten.
Open term →contest
If someone says your library book is overdue and demands a fine, contesting it means telling the librarian, 'No, that's not true!' You challenge th...
Open term →controlling class
Think of a permission slip where all the kids are going to the same field trip.
Open term →counterclaim
It is like when you get told off for being late; a counterclaim is your right to tell the teacher that *they* were the ones who forgot to schedule...
Open term →court order
Think of it like getting permission to play on the playground; the order tells everyone what they are allowed and required to do there.
Open term →day
If a permission slip says 'due within three days,' it means you have to hand it in by the third day, just like counting up from today on your fingers.
Open term →deadline
A deadline is like the due date on a permission slip for an activity at school.
Open term →decision
Think of a parent signing a permission slip for your friend's birthday party.
Open term →declare
It is like writing down what happened on your permission slip; you are telling everyone exactly what rule applies and why it's true.
Open term →decree
Imagine you promise your friend money, and when you fail to pay, the judge issues a decree telling you exactly how much and when you must pay it back.
Open term →defend
If someone accuses you of breaking a promise (a breach), defending yourself is like showing your permission slip to prove why that promise didn't a...
Open term →defense
If you promise to mow the lawn but it rains before your chore time, saying 'Act of God' is using a defense.
Open term →determination
A determination is like when your teacher decides you passed the test; that decision tells everyone what happened with your grade.
Open term →disclosure
Disclosure is like showing your homework before class starts.
Open term →discovery
It's like getting permission slips from all the other kids before school starts.
Open term →discretion
Imagine a teacher has discretion over grading: they can give you an A even if the rubric only strictly allows for a B.
Open term →dispute
A dispute happens when two people disagree on a promise—like arguing over who gets the last cookie.
Open term →district
Think of it like this: your neighborhood is the 'district.' If you break someone's toy on Elm Street, the court for the Elm Street district handles...
Open term →enter
Entering is like showing up for school on the first day; you formally start your attendance record.
Open term →error
If you sign a permission slip with an error, and your teacher accepts it anyway, that might be a harmless error.
Open term →examination
It’s like checking your homework before turning it in; you let the teacher look at it to make sure all the answers are correct and complete.
Open term →extend
Extending means making something last longer; like asking your teacher to give you an extra day on that math homework instead of just turning it in...
Open term →files
Filing documents is like turning in your homework; it proves you did the work for the teacher (the judge).
Open term →final
A final decision is like when your teacher says, 'That's it!
Open term →final judgment
It’s like getting your report card at the end of the semester; that final grade settles all arguments about your performance.
Open term →holiday
Like a snow day when the library is closed and can't take your returned book — the due date slides to the next open day.
Open term →identify
When a teacher asks you to identify who broke the window, "some kid" is not enough — you have to give a name.
Open term →injunction
A judge's version of a teacher separating two fighting kids: the order says 'stay away from each other,' and breaking it means a trip to the princi...
Open term →threatened
A threatened permission slip means someone promises they will file a complaint if you don't sign it today.
Open term →trial
It's like when you argue with your sibling about who took the last cookie; the trial is the time Mom listens to both sides and makes a final ruling.
Open term →unrelated
If you ask permission to play with your toys and someone offers you a hall pass to the backyard, but you are still playing inside, the hall pass is...
Open term →venue
Venue is like picking the right playground for your friend's birthday party.
Open term →week
If your permission slip says homework is due in one week, it means exactly seven days from today's date.
Open term →without prejudice
It is like handing someone a hall pass that says, 'This permission slip is okay for now, but I can take it back later if my mind changes.'
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