Persuasive authority, unlike mandatory authority, describes a source of law—primary or secondary—that carries some authoritative weight but that does not bind a court.
Court decisionsWhether a court decision is persuasive authority or...
civil procedure
petition
A petition is a formal written request to a court or other official body, seeking some form of legal action or relief. It may be filed by a person, group, or organization.
[Last updated in January of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team...
petition for certiorari
Petition for certiorari refers to a petition that asks an appellate court to grant a writ of certiorari. This type of petition usually argues that a lower court has incorrectly decided an important question of law, and that the mistake should...
petitioner
The petitioner is the party who presents a petition or motion to the court. The term is frequently used to describe the appellant in an appeal, where the petitioner is usually the party who lost in the lower court. This can be either the...
piercing the corporate veil
Piercing the corporate veil refers to a special instance where the court holds the shareholder or director of a corporation personally liable for the corporation’s debts.
Piercing the corporate veil is also known as veil-...
plaintiff
A plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit in a civil matter.
The plaintiff may be an individual or an entity. A plaintiff files a complaint with a court against the defendant, initiating the action. In bringing an...
plaintiff's attorney
Plaintiff's attorney is the lawyer who represents the plaintiff, the suing party, in a lawsuit. In attorney parlance, it refers to an attorney who regularly represents the person suing for damages. In contrast, an attorney who regularly...
plead
To plead means to draft and serve a pleading or to file a pleading in court; to answer the opposing party’s plea; to make a plea. In civil lawsuits and petitions, the filing of any document (pleading) or the act of making an assertion or...
Pleading
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....
points and authorities
Points and authorities refers to a document submitted to the court in support of a motion, usually in the form of a memorandum or brief.
[Last updated in February of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]