civil action

[ siv-uhl ak-shuhn ]

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.

Example Sentences

"Civil action" has to be part of any successful counterinsurgency.

From The Daily Beast

And the wrongdoer may still be sued in a civil action for the loss to the seller as before.

From Project Gutenberg

The law punishes false imprisonment as a crime; the person unlawfully imprisoned also has a civil action for damages.

From Project Gutenberg

The absolute independence which was claimed for religious opinion, led some to claim an equal independence for civil action.

From Project Gutenberg

No civil action of any kind as regards debts and the like can be brought against them in the Civil Courts of the receiving States.

From Project Gutenberg

Afterwards, in a civil action, he was cast in heavy damages; his furniture and pictures were sold; and he retired to Switzerland.

From Project Gutenberg