All parties fall within one of the following three categories: (1) proper parties; (2) necessary parties; and (3) indispensable parties.
Proper parties are ones whose interest may be affected by a judgment, but whose...
civil procedure
prosecution
The action of a commencing a criminal charge. For example, California Penal Code § 804 provides that “prosecution for an offense if commenced when any of the following occurs: (a) An indictment of information is filed. (b) A complaint is filed...
provisional remedies
Provisional remedies are court orders issued before a final judgment to temporarily preserve rights or assets. These remedies are typically sought during the initial stages of a legal proceeding to prevent irreparable harm and require a...
provisional remedy
See provisional remedies.
[Last updated in March of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]
prudence
Prudence is defined as a reasonable standard of judgment, management, and conduct under the circumstances, based on what was known or should have been known at the time a decision was made or the action was completed. Prudence involves a duty...
pseudonym name
A pseudonym name is a false name or identity, usually used in place of the actual name of a plaintiff in a civil case to maintain anonymity. Common examples of pseudonym names in cases are Roe and Doe.
Since the judicial...
public auction
A public auction is an auction held on the government's behalf to sell either government-owned property, or private property that was seized pursuant to a writ of execution or a similar type of order.
In Gardner v. Ally Fin...
punitive damages
Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are the damages awarded separately from the actual damages from an event. Courts generally award punitive damages only when it is determined that the defendant has acted in a particularly...
qua
Qua is Latin for acting in the capacity of, acting as, or in the manner of. After identifying a person, the word "qua" may be added to signify that the rest of the statement pertains to that person acting in the capacity of whatever title or...
qualified immunity
Qualified immunity is a type of legal immunity that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or...