The producing of an effect. In personal injury lawsuits and under several maritime statutes, a plaintiff is legally required to prove that the defendant’s breach of a legal duty caused his or her inju [..]

A legal question of which jurisdiction’s law should apply in a given case. A contract may contain a choice of law clause, in which the contracting parties agree to designate a jurisdiction where the l [..]

A rule that if an injured party receives compensation for the injuries from a source independent of the tortfeasor, the payment should not be deducted from the damages that the tortfeasor must pay. An [..]

The contact of two or more moving vessels.

A plaintiff’s own negligence or carelessness that proportionally reduces the damages recoverable from a defendant. If a plaintiff if partially at fault for the accident, the plaintiff’s recovery will [..]

The initial legal document and pleading that initiates a civil action and the plaintiff’s claim for relief.

Jurisdiction that can be exercised simultaneously by more than one court over the same subject matter and within the same territory. If two courts have concurrent jurisdiction, a litigant has the righ [..]

A difference between the laws of different states or countries in a case in which a transaction or occurrence central to the case has a connection to two or more jurisdictions. A court will apply seve [..]

Losses that result indirectly from an injurious act and do not flow directly and immediately from the act.

A de facto termination of employment that results from an employer making an employee’s working conditions so intolerable that the employee feels compelled to leave employment.