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Law vocabulary · Lawsuits & Procedure

Complaint

Meaning in law, with examples

/kəmˈpleɪnt/nounCommon term

In law, complaint means: In US civil procedure, the first document a plaintiff files to start a lawsuit, setting out the facts, the legal claims and what the plaintiff asks the court to order.

In Turkish: dava dilekçesi, şikayet

How it is used

Lawyers 'file' or 'amend' a complaint, and the defendant must 'answer' it within a time limit or 'move to dismiss' it. In English civil courts the equivalent documents are the claim form and the 'particulars of claim'. Outside court, 'complaint' keeps its normal meaning of a grievance.

Example sentences

  1. The complaint alleges that the app collected users' location data without consent.

  2. The plaintiffs amended their complaint to add two new defendants.

Common collocations

  • file a complaint
  • amended complaint
  • the complaint alleges
  • answer the complaint
  • dismiss the complaint
  • plaintiffThe person or company that starts a civil case in court against someone else and asks the court for a remedy.
  • lawsuitA claim that one person or company brings against another in a civil court, usually asking for money or for an order to stop something.
  • fileTo officially give a document to a court or public office so that it becomes part of the record, for example to start a case or to answer one.
  • summonsAn official document from a court ordering a person to appear before it, or telling a defendant that a case has been started against them.
  • counterclaimA claim that a defendant brings against the claimant in the same proceedings, so that both sides' claims are decided together.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Lawsuits & Procedure

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.