Lawsuit vs. Case — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Urooj Arif — Updated on April 20, 2024
A lawsuit involves legal action taken by one party against another, seeking justice or compensation; a case can be any dispute, claim, or matter handled legally.
Difference Between Lawsuit and Case
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A lawsuit is a formal legal action initiated when one party sues another, often over disputes involving rights, responsibilities, or damages. Cases, on the other hand, encompass a broader spectrum of legal proceedings, not strictly limited to disputes but also including criminal prosecutions and other judicial matters.
Lawsuits specifically require the filing of legal documents in a court to initiate proceedings against an alleged wrongdoer. Cases include these types of legal actions but also refer to any instance where a matter is brought before a judge or legal authority.
Typically, lawsuits are civil actions, meaning they do not involve the prosecution of criminal charges but focus on resolving disputes between parties. Whereas cases can be either civil or criminal, depending on the nature of the legal issue being addressed.
The outcome of a lawsuit usually seeks a specific type of redress, such as monetary compensation or injunctive relief. In contrast, cases might result in a variety of outcomes, including sentencing in criminal matters, decisions on legal rights, or determinations of liability.
The term "lawsuit" is often associated with the image of parties contesting in court, emphasizing the adversarial aspect of the legal process. Cases, however, might not always reach a courtroom and can be settled or resolved through other judicial processes or alternative dispute resolution methods.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A legal action brought by one party against another in civil court.
Any legal matter brought before a court.
Types
Primarily civil actions.
Includes civil, criminal, and administrative.
Initiation
Requires formal filing of legal documents.
Initiated through various legal filings.
Outcomes
Seeks specific remedies like damages or injunctions.
Wide range of legal outcomes, including judgments or settlements.
Associated Connotations
Often adversarial and contentious.
Broader and can include non-adversarial processes.
Compare with Definitions
Lawsuit
Involves plaintiffs and defendants in a legal setting.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff sought substantial punitive damages.
Case
A scenario where legal advice or adjudication is sought.
The tax case was complex, involving multiple jurisdictions.
Lawsuit
A legal action where one party sues another for a remedy in disputes.
The businessman filed a lawsuit against his partner for breach of contract.
Case
Any legal matter handled in a court of law.
The criminal case against the former officer began yesterday.
Lawsuit
A civil process to seek compensation or enforcement of rights.
She pursued a lawsuit to recover damages from the city.
Case
Includes both civil and criminal proceedings.
The lawyer has handled many high-profile cases in his career.
Lawsuit
Associated with civil law jurisdictions.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court due to the nature of the dispute.
Case
Can involve multiple parties or public interest issues.
The environmental case brought by the state had national implications.
Lawsuit
A method to resolve legal disputes in court.
The lawsuit dragged on for years before reaching a settlement.
Case
Often requires judicial oversight or decision.
The case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today.
Case
An instance of a particular situation; an example of something occurring
A case of mistaken identity
In many cases farmers do have a deep feeling for their land
Lawsuit
An action or proceeding other than a criminal prosecution brought in a court of law or equity.
Case
An instance of a disease, injury, or problem
200,000 cases of hepatitis B
Lawsuit
(legal) In civil law, a case where two or more people disagree and one or more of the parties take the case to a court for resolution.
The lawyer advised his client against filing a lawsuit as it would take a lot of time and money to resolve.
Case
A legal action, especially one to be decided in a court of law
A libel case
A former employee brought the case against the council
Lawsuit
An action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim.
Case
Any of the forms of a noun, adjective, or pronoun that express the semantic relation of the word to other words in the sentence
The accusative case
Lawsuit
A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy;
The family brought suit against the landlord
Case
A container designed to hold or protect something
A silver cigarette case
Case
Each of the two forms, capital or minuscule, in which a letter of the alphabet may be written or printed.
Case
Surround in a material or substance
The towers are of steel cased in granite
Case
Reconnoitre (a place) before carrying out a robbery
I was casing the joint
Case
An instance or occurrence of a particular kind or category
A case of mistaken identity.
Case
An occurrence of a disease or disorder
A mild case of flu.
Case
A set of circumstances or a state of affairs; a situation
It may rain, in which case the hike will be canceled.
Case
Actual fact; reality
We suspected the walls were hollow, and this proved to be the case.
Case
A question or problem; a matter
It is simply a case of honor.
Case
A situation that requires investigation, especially by a formal or official body.
Case
An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.
Case
The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.
Case
A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument
Presented a good case for changing the law.
Case
A person being assisted, treated, or studied, as by a physician, lawyer, or social worker.
Case
(Informal) A peculiar or eccentric person; a character.
Case
In traditional grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence.
Case
Case In some varieties of generative grammar, the thematic or semantic role of a noun phrase as represented abstractly but not necessarily indicated overtly in surface structure. In such frameworks, nouns in English have Case even in the absence of inflectional case endings.
Case
A container; a receptacle
A jewelry case.
Meat-filled cases of dough.
Case
A container with its contents.
Case
A decorative or protective covering or cover.
Case
A set or pair
A case of pistols.
Case
The frame or framework of a window, door, or stairway.
Case
The surface or outer layer of a metal alloy.
Case
A shallow compartmented tray for storing type or type matrices.
Case
The form of a written, printed, or keyed letter that distinguishes it as being lowercase or uppercase
Typed the password using the wrong case.
Case
To put into or cover with a case; encase.
Case
(Slang) To examine carefully, as in planning a crime
Cased the bank before robbing it.
Case
An actual event, situation, or fact.
For a change, in this case, he was telling the truth.
It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom.
In case of fire, break glass. [sign on fire extinguisher holder in public space]
Case
A given condition or state.
Case
A piece of work, specifically defined within a profession.
It was one of the detective's easiest cases.
Social workers should work on a maximum of forty active cases.
The doctor told us of an interesting case he had treated that morning.
Case
(academia) An instance or event as a topic of study.
The teaching consists of theory lessons and case studies.
Case
(legal) A legal proceeding, lawsuit.
Case
(grammar) A specific inflection of a word (particularly a noun, pronoun, or adjective) depending on its function in the sentence.
The accusative case canonically indicates a direct object.
Latin has six cases, and remnants of a seventh.
Case
Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language.
Jane has been studying case in Caucasian languages.
Latin is a language that employs case.
Case
(medicine) An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms.
There were another five cases reported overnight.
Case
(programming) A section of code representing one of the actions of a conditional switch.
Case
A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture.
Case
A box, sheath, or covering generally.
A case for spectacles; the case of a watch
Case
A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.
Case
An enclosing frame or casing.
A door case; a window case
Case
A suitcase.
Case
A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.
Case
The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.
Case
A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).
Case
The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter.
Case
(poker slang) Four of a kind.
Case
(US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces.
Case
(mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings.
Case
A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft.
Case
A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.
Case
A counterfeit crown five-shilling coin.
Case
(obsolete) to propose hypothetical cases
Case
(transitive) To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.
Case
(transitive) To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose.
Case
To survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery.
Case
(poker slang) The last remaining card of a particular rank.
He drew the case eight!
Case
A box, sheath, or covering; as, a case for holding goods; a case for spectacles; the case of a watch; the case (capsule) of a cartridge; a case (cover) for a book.
Case
A box and its contents; the quantity contained in a box; as, a case of goods; a case of instruments.
Case
A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type.
Case
An inclosing frame; a casing; as, a door case; a window case.
Case
A small fissure which admits water to the workings.
Case
Chance; accident; hap; opportunity.
By aventure, or sort, or cas.
Case
That which befalls, comes, or happens; an event; an instance; a circumstance, or all the circumstances; condition; state of things; affair; as, a strange case; a case of injustice; the case of the Indian tribes.
In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge.
If the case of the man be so with his wife.
And when a lady's in the caseYou know all other things give place.
You think this madness but a common case.
I am in case to justle a constable,
Case
A patient under treatment; an instance of sickness or injury; as, ten cases of fever; also, the history of a disease or injury.
A proper remedy in hypochondriacal cases.
Case
The matters of fact or conditions involved in a suit, as distinguished from the questions of law; a suit or action at law; a cause.
Let us consider the reason of the case, for nothing is law that is not reason.
Not one case in the reports of our courts.
Case
One of the forms, or the inflections or changes of form, of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, which indicate its relation to other words, and in the aggregate constitute its declension; the relation which a noun or pronoun sustains to some other word.
Case is properly a falling off from the nominative or first state of word; the name for which, however, is now, by extension of its signification, applied also to the nominative.
Case
To cover or protect with, or as with, a case; to inclose.
The man who, cased in steel, had passed whole days and nights in the saddle.
Case
To strip the skin from; as, to case a box.
Case
To propose hypothetical cases.
Case
A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy;
The family brought suit against the landlord
Case
An occurrence of something;
It was a case of bad judgment
Another instance occurred yesterday
But there is always the famous example of the Smiths
Case
A special set of circumstances;
In that event, the first possibility is excluded
It may rain in which case the picnic will be canceled
Case
A problem requiring investigation;
Perry Mason solved the case of the missing heir
Case
The actual state of things;
That was not the case
Case
A statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument;
He stated his case clearly
Case
A portable container for carrying several objects;
The musicians left their instrument cases backstage
Case
A person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation;
The subjects for this investigation were selected randomly
The cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities
Case
A person requiring professional services;
A typical case was the suburban housewife described by a marriage counselor
Case
The quantity contained in a case
Case
A glass container used to store and display items in a shop or museum or home
Case
A specific state of mind that is temporary;
A case of the jitters
Case
Nouns or pronouns or adjectives (often marked by inflection) related in some way to other words in a sentence
Case
The housing or outer covering of something;
The clock has a walnut case
Case
A person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities);
A real character
A strange character
A friendly eccentric
The capable type
A mental case
Case
An enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part
Case
The enclosing frame around a door or window opening;
The casings had rotted away and had to be replaced
Case
Bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow;
The burglar carried his loot in a pillowcase
Case
Look over, usually with the intention to rob;
They men cased the housed
Case
Enclose in, or as if in, a case;
My feet were encased in mud
Common Curiosities
What outcomes can a lawsuit lead to?
Outcomes typically include monetary damages, injunctions, or specific performance of a contract.
Can a lawsuit be part of a criminal case?
No, lawsuits are civil matters and do not include criminal prosecutions.
Are all legal disputes considered lawsuits?
No, only those disputes that are formally brought before a civil court as lawsuits; other disputes can be part of broader legal cases.
What is the main difference between a lawsuit and a case?
A lawsuit is a type of case specifically involving civil disputes where one party sues another, while a case can refer to any legal matter before the courts.
What's the difference in handling between a lawsuit and a criminal case?
Lawsuits involve civil proceedings managed by the parties involved, whereas criminal cases are prosecuted by the state.
Who can file a lawsuit?
Any individual, company, or entity claiming to have incurred loss or damage due to another party's actions.
Why might someone choose to settle a case out of court?
To avoid the costs, time, and uncertainty of a trial, and to reach a mutually agreeable resolution.
What types of cases can lawyers handle?
Lawyers can handle a variety of cases, including civil, criminal, and administrative law cases.
What happens if a lawsuit is dismissed?
If a lawsuit is dismissed, it ends without a trial or further rights to claim under the same grounds.
How does one initiate a lawsuit?
By filing a complaint or petition in a civil court against the defendant.
Can a case exist without going to court?
Yes, some cases can be resolved through alternative dispute resolutions like mediation or arbitration.
Is a lawsuit the same in all countries?
The concept of a lawsuit is generally consistent, but the specific procedures and laws may vary by country.
What kind of evidence is needed in a lawsuit?
Evidence in lawsuits typically includes documents, witness testimony, and expert opinions relevant to the civil dispute.
Can a lawsuit be settled out of court?
Yes, many lawsuits are settled out of court through negotiations between the parties.
How do courts determine the outcome of a case?
Outcomes are determined based on the evidence presented, legal standards, and applicable laws.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
