In the law, a cause of action is a recognized kind of legal claim that a plaintiff pleads or alleges in a complaint to start a lawsuit. Examples are: breach of contract; torts such as injury, conspiracy, fraud, slander, malpractice, intentional infliction of emotional distress; suits at equity. "Cause of action" encompasses both the legal theory of what legal wrong the plaintiff claims to have suffered, and the remedy, which is what a court is allowed to order the defendant to do to compensate the plaintiff for that wrong. In the law, a pleading is one of the papers filed with a court in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer. ... Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other partys performance. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. ... Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... In law, malpractice is type of tort in which the misfeasance, mailfeasance or nonfeasance of a professional under a duty to act fails to follow generally accepted professional standards. ... Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) is a common law tort claim for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress. ... The British Actors Equity Association (now called Equity) is the British actors trade union. ... This article is about law in society. ... A remedy is the solution or amelioration of a problem or difficulty. ...

The points a plaintiff must prove to win a given type of case are called the "elements" of that cause of action. For the cause of action of negligence, for example, the elements are (existence of a) duty, breach (of that duty), causation (by that breach), and damages (incurred by the plaintiff). If a complaint does not allege facts to support every element of the cause of action it describes, the court will dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, for which relief can be granted. Manufacturers are reponsible for adequately warning consumers of possibly dangerous products. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Damages, in law has two different meanings. ...

The respondent to a cause of action may plead denials or affirmative defenses. Most defenses must be raised in the pleadings or by motion or are waived at trial. A few defenses, in particular a court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction, need not be pleaded and may be raised at any time. See for example Varian v. Delfino. An affirmative defense is a defense used in litigation between private parties in common law jurisdictions. ... The term jurisdiction has more than one sense. ... Varian v. ...