Legal Definition and Related Resources of Action on the case

See “Case.”

What does Action on the case mean in American Law?

The definition of Action on the case in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

Most legal actions in medieval England were commenced by procuring from the Chancery a particular writ from a list of standardized ones, e.g., debt, which was to meet one’s need, e.g., to recover a sum certain owed, evidenced in a particular manner. See actiones nominatae. Very early, however, certainly by the time of Bracton, writs taking account of more particular facts and not fitting exactly the terms of the now standard writs were being issued. (It was once thought that this power came from the in consimili casu (i.e., “in a like case”) clause of the Statute of Westminster II, but this has been shown to be false). In any event, these actions on the case eventually grew into most of the law of assumpsit, which itself (by complex interplay with the law of trespass) branched off to form eventually what we now call the law of negligence. And at least as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century, a reference to “action on the case,” “trespass on the case,” or just plain “case” would refer to an action beginning to look like the modern law of negligence.

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This definition of Action On The Case Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

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See Also

• Case