Also known as: capacity-to-sue · legal capacity to sue
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The legal authority of a person or entity to initiate or defend a lawsuit in its own name. This authority is determined by the law of the state in which the court sits or by the entity's formation statute. It is distinct from standing and real-party-in-interest requirements.
Cardinal Insurance, an LLC with its principal place of business in Delaware, filed suit in federal court in New Jersey against a local contractor for breach of a policy. The contractor moved to dismiss for improper venue. Because Cardinal Insurance possesses capacity to sue in its common name, it is deemed to reside only in the district of its principal place of business for venue purposes.
Cypress Technologies, an LLC formed to develop software, discovered that a former contractor had misappropriated source code. Cypress filed suit in its own name seeking injunctive relief and damages. The court recognized that the LLC statute grants Cypress the capacity to sue and be sued in its own name and the power to take steps necessary to protect its business assets.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Premier Channel LP negotiated and was named in a distribution agreement as the party entitled to streaming royalties. When the distributor underreported revenues, Premier Channel filed suit in its own name for breach and an accounting. The statute confers on the limited partnership the capacity to sue in the partnership name to protect its contractual interests.
The Bank of the United States brought an action in federal circuit court to recover funds allegedly converted by state officials. The bank's charter expressly authorized it to sue and be sued in federal courts. The Court held that this grant of capacity permitted the bank to invoke federal jurisdiction without further showing.
Administrators of an estate filed a wrongful-death action in a Pennsylvania federal court. Defendants moved to transfer the case under § 1404(a) to a Massachusetts district where venue would otherwise be proper. The court refused transfer because the administrators lacked capacity to sue in Massachusetts under the law of that state at the time of filing.
Marilyn White sued her husband and father-in-law to recover on an automobile insurance policy after an accident. The defendants filed a speaking demurrer asserting that Marilyn lacked capacity to sue because she was married to one of the insureds. The court examined whether the marriage created a legal disability that prevented her from maintaining the action in her own name.
Capacity concerns whether a party is legally qualified to appear in court in its own name, while standing concerns whether that party has a sufficient interest in the controversy. A party may have capacity yet lack standing, or vice versa.
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Yes. The Uniform Limited Partnership Act grants a limited partnership the capacity to sue and be sued in the name of the partnership and the power to take all actions necessary or convenient to its affairs.
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Under the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, an LLC has capacity to sue in its own name. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(b) directs courts to look to the law of the state of formation or the forum state to confirm that capacity.
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Yes. After dissolution a corporation continues to exist for winding-up purposes, which include collecting assets and enforcing pre-dissolution contractual rights through litigation in its corporate name.
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Modern parentage statutes grant the child independent standing to seek adjudication of parentage. The child may sue through a parent or other representative even though the child is a minor.
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…candidly admits that the action against Piper and Hartzell was filed in the United States because its laws regarding liability, capacity to sue, and damages are more favorable to her position than are those of Scotland. Scottish law does not recognize strict liability in tort. Moreover, it permits wrongful-death actions only when…