litigation

n. (Law) act of legally disputing, process of contesting in a court of law; lawsuit

"Civil action" redirects here. For the film starring John Travolta of the same name, see A Civil Action.In American law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. One or more defendants are required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment will be given in the plaintiff's favor, and a range of court orders may be issued to enforce a right, award damages, or impose an injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.
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Noun
1. a legal proceeding in a court; a judicial contest to determine and enforce legal rights
(synonym) judicial proceeding
(hypernym) proceeding, legal proceeding, proceedings
(hyponym) custody battle
(derivation) litigate
(classification) law, jurisprudence

(n.)
The act or process of litigating; a suit at law; a judicial contest.
  

The process of initiating or contesting a case of law. EU activities facilitate litigation throughout the Union through development of standards for legal aid, cooperation between national judiciary, exchange of judicial documents, and mutual recognition of decisions. . (See Judicial-civil: European judicial network)