Also known as: equity actions · equitable action · equitable actions · action in equity · suit in equity
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial proceeding in which a court applies equitable principles to award relief unavailable at law, such as an injunction, specific performance, or partition of property.
Emerald Enterprises lost a nonjury contract dispute when the district court credited the opposing witness and entered judgment. Twenty days later Emerald discovered internal records showing the witness had been reprimanded for similar misstatements. Emerald moved under Rule 59 for a new trial, arguing the records supplied an equitable ground for rehearing that would likely change the outcome.
Evelyn Ellison and Enzo Eastwood lived together for five years, pooled earnings, and renovated a home with Evelyn's severance pay under an oral understanding of joint ownership. After Enzo ended the relationship and sold the property, Evelyn commenced an equitable action seeking a share of the proceeds based on her contributions. The court permitted the suit to proceed alongside any contract claim.
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Shareholders filed an equity action in Delaware and sought to sequester stock owned by nonresident directors to obtain jurisdiction. The court examined whether the stock's presence satisfied minimum contacts under due process before allowing the equitable seizure to proceed.
After a long cohabitation, one partner sued for partition of personal property and real estate acquired during the relationship. The court treated the request as an equitable action and ordered division according to the parties' respective interests under the governing partition statutes.
A parent filed a federal equity action seeking damages and injunctive relief arising from a state custody dispute. The district court abstained, concluding that the ongoing state proceedings implicated important state interests in family relations that equity historically left to state courts.
A former spouse brought a federal diversity action alleging tortious interference with custody rights and seeking monetary and injunctive relief. The court held that the domestic-relations exception did not bar the equity action because it sought damages rather than a decree altering marital status.
After a nonjury trial the court may grant a new trial for any reason for which a rehearing has heretofore been granted in a suit in equity. This standard incorporates traditional equitable grounds such as newly discovered evidence that could not have been found earlier with due diligence and that would likely produce a different result.
Yes. The Uniform Cohabitants Economic Remedies Act permits a cohabitant to commence an equitable action concerning entitlement to property based on contributions unless the action is inconsistent with a valid cohabitants' agreement. The equitable claim is in addition to any contractual remedy otherwise available.
No. The exception applies to actions seeking decrees altering marital status or child custody but does not bar diversity actions for damages arising from tortious conduct connected to family disputes.
…of Greyhound which is incorporated in California. [^maj-42]: Sequestration is an equitable procedure available only in equity actions, but a similar procedure may be utilized in actions at law. See n. 10, supra . [^maj-43]: Delaware does not require directors to own stock. Del. Code Ann., Tit. 8, § 141 (b) (Supp.…