civil action

American  

[siv-uhl ak-shuhn] / ˈsɪv əl ˈæk ʃən /

noun

Law.

1. a noncriminal lawsuit regarding an alleged violation of someone’s rights.

   When he started his own business and solicited his former employer’s clients, the employer filed a civil action against him.

   Some states require litigants in civil actions to go through alternative dispute resolution first.

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Example Sentences

Petitioners could take civil action against those who fail to comply and statutory damages would be set at $3,000 for each day the content remained online.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Under the bill, a union representative alleging a violation can bring a civil action to “obtain damages.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

He was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission in September in a civil action of participating in a fraud that lost investors more than $350 million while earning millions in management fees.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025

The newly appointed attorney has demanded that I return almost half of the amount that I received and has filed a civil action to compel me to do so.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 23, 2025

I explained that what the State had done to him was illegal and that we could pursue a civil action against them, but he had no interest in that.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson