A codefendant is one of multiple defendants jointly sued in the same civil action or formally accused of committing the same crime. For instance, if A sues B and C, B and C are codefendants.
If a defendant sues a different...
courts and procedure
collateral attack
A collateral attack, also called an indirect attack, is a challenge on the validity of a prior judgment through a new case rather than by a direct appeal. Examples include habeas corpus petitions and claims that a prior judgment was invalid...
collateral estoppel
Collateral estoppel is an important doctrine in the fields of criminal law and civil procedure.
In criminal law, collateral estoppel protects criminal defendants from being tried for the same issue in more than one criminal...
collateral order doctrine
The collateral order doctrine is an exception to the general rule against allowing interlocutory appeals (appeals on a temporary order issued during the course of litigation). This doctrine traces its origins to the case Cohen v. Beneficial...
collateral source rule
The collateral source rule is a legal doctrine in tort law that prohibits the admission of evidence showing that the plaintiff or victim has received compensation from sources other than the damages sought against the defendant. This rule...
collusive suit
A collusive suit (also referred to as a friendly suit) is a lawsuit where the parties are not actually in disagreement but are cooperating to steer the court towards some agreed-upon conclusion. As seen in United States v. Johnson, collusive...
colorable claim
A colorable claim is a plausible legal claim. This means that the claim is “strong enough” to have a reasonable chance of being valid if the legal basis is generally correct and the facts can be proven in court. Note that the claim need not...
colorable transaction
A colorable transaction is a transaction that appears bona fide legitimate, but upon further inspection reveals itself as fraudulent or otherwise invalid. Because the term is often used in hindsight when the transaction proves invalid, a...
comity
Comity refers to courts of one state or jurisdiction respecting the laws and judicial decisions of other jurisdictions – whether state, federal or international – not as a matter of obligation but out of deference and mutual respect.
...comity of nations
The “comity of nations” doctrine permits recognition of foreign proceedings to the extent that such proceedings are determined to be orderly, fair, and not detrimental to another nation’s interests. Unlike enforcement of judgments between...