Cause of action
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In the law, a cause of action is a recognized kind of legal claim that a plaintiff pleads or alleges in a complaint to start a lawsuit. Usually a cause of action will be either a legal claim or a claim in equity. Legal claims are usually those that are based on the laws of a particular jurisdiction. Equity claims are those based on the common law interpretation of what is right and wrong and what would be needed to make everyone whole again. Examples are: breach of contract; torts such as injury, invasion of privacy, fraud, slander, malpractice, intentional infliction of emotional distress; suits in equity such as unjust enrichment and quantum meruit. A "Cause of action" encompasses both the legal theory of what legal wrong the plaintiff claims to have suffered, and the remedy, which is the relief a court is asked to grant which is in the form of an "Order of the Court" instructing the defendant to do or not do something for the benefit of the plaintiff or an instruction in some cases to the plaintiff to do or not do something for the benefit of the defendant.
The points a plaintiff must prove to win a given type of case are called the "elements" of that cause of action. Causes of action are more commonly referred to as "claims." For a claim of negligence, for example, the elements are: the (existence of a) duty, breach (of that duty), proximate cause (by that breach), and damages. If a complaint does not allege facts sufficient to support every element of a claim, the court, upon motion by the opposing party, may dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, for which relief can be granted.
The defendant to a cause of action must file an "Answer" to the complaint in which the claims can be admitted, denied, or insufficient information to form a response. The answer may also contain counterclaims in which the "Counterclaim Plaintiff" states its own causes of action. Finally, the answer may contain affirmative defenses. Most defenses must be raised at the first possible opportunity either in the answer or by motion or are deemed waived. A few defenses, in particular a court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction, need not be plead and may be raised at any time.
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