General (not jurisdiction-specific)

Failure to use the care that a reasonably careful person would use in the same situation. A negligence claim generally requires a duty, a breach of that duty, causation and damages.

A trial that ends before a verdict without a valid result, for example because of a serious error or a jury that cannot agree. A mistrial usually means the case may be tried again.

The formal order an appellate court sends to the lower court telling it the appeal has been decided and directing further action. In the federal courts of appeals, Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 41 governs when the mandate issues.

A federal judicial officer appointed by the district judges of a district court. Under 28 U.S.C. § 636, magistrate judges handle many pretrial matters and, with the consent of all parties, may conduct all proceedings in a civil case and order the entry of judgment.

A person or entity that takes part in a lawsuit as a plaintiff, defendant or other named participant, and is bound by the result.

A party to a lawsuit.

Legal responsibility for an act or omission, such as a duty to pay damages for harm caused.

An equitable defense that bars a claim when the plaintiff unreasonably delayed in bringing it and the delay harmed the defendant. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c)(1) lists laches as an affirmative defense.

The court’s rulings on how the law applies to the facts it has found. In a federal bench trial, they are stated separately from the findings of fact under Rule 52(a).

The court’s written decisions about what happened, based on the evidence. In a federal bench trial, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a) requires the court to find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately.