United States

In the United States, a friendly suit is most often used when two parties desire or require judicial recognition of a settlement agreement, and so one sues the other despite the lack of conflict between them.

The law condones this practice because there are several benefits to settling a lawsuit as opposed to settling a claim outside of a lawsuit. First, if one of the parties to the claim is a minor, they usually cannot settle the claim without the appointment of a guardian ad litem to review and accept the settlement. Once the suit is filed, and the settlment is reviewed by the at litem who considers the best interest of the child, after which the parties can then file a joint motion for the court to render judgment, which would then be binding on all parties regardless of their minority. A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. ... In law, a person who is not yet a legal adult is known as a minor (known in some places as an infant or juvenile). ... A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. ... A judgment or judgement (see spelling note below), in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. ...

When there is a judgment, the parties also gain the defense of res judica if sued again on the same topic.

Friendly suits are generally prohibited in the Article III courts of the United States. United States v. Johnson, 319 U.S. 302, 63 S.Ct. 1075, 87 L.Ed. 1413. In practice, however, friendly suits are rarely explicity described as such, and they could easily slip into the judicial system through some casual omissions.

Law
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	See also:List of areas of law

See also Portal:Law The stela of King Hammurabi depicts the god Shamash revealing a code of laws to the king. ... Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Civil law is a codified system of law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... In law, custom, or customary law consists of established patterns of behaviour that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. ... In the religious sense, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by God defining and governing all human affairs. ... Socialist law is the official name of the legal system used in Communist states. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Statutory law is written law (as opposed to oral or customary law) set down by a legislature or other governing authority such as the executive branch of government in response to a perceived need to clarify the functioning of government, improve civil order, answer a public need, to codify existing... Bold textJAMES CHECKLEY Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ... Statutory interpretation is the process of reading and applying statutory law. ... Common Law, now often referred to as Non-statutory law is the foundation for justice in the Union States under our constitional scheme. ... In law, custom, or customary law consists of established patterns of behaviour that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. ... Case law (precedential law) is the body of judge-made law and legal decisions that interprets prior case law, statutes and other legal authority -- including doctrinal writings by legal scholars such as the Corpus Juris Secundum, Halsburys Laws of England or the doctinal writings found in the Recueil Dalloz... The Court of Chancery, London, early 19th century This article is about concept of equity in Anglo-American jurisprudence. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dispute resolution. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ... Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ... Administrative law is the body of law that arises from the activities of administrative agencies of government. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law governing relations between private individuals. ... The Law of Obligations is one of the component elements of the civil law system of law and encompasses contractual obligations, quasi-contractual obligations such as unjust enrichment and extra-contractual obligations. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement that is enforced or recognized by the law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ... A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... In law, the judiciary or judicature is the system of courts which administer justice and provide a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. ... British barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... Jurisprudence is essentially the theory and philosophy of law. ... Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy and jurisprudence which studies basic questions about law and legal systems, such as what is the law?, what are the criteria for legal validity?, what is the relationship between law and morality?, and many other similar questions. ... It has been suggested that Law of nature (precept) be merged into this article or section. ... Legal positivism is a school of thought in modern and contemporary jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... Legal formalism is a Positivist view in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... Legal realism is a family of theories about the nature of law developed in the first half of the 20th century in the United States (American Legal Realism) and Scandinavia (Scandinavian Legal Realism). ... Interpretivism is a school of thought in contemporary jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ... The study of feminist legal theory is a school thought based on the common view that laws treatment of women in relation to men has not been equal nor fair. ... Law and economics is the term usually applied to an approach to legal theory that incorporates methods and ideas borrowed from the discipline of economics. ... Critical legal studies refers to a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory (the Frankfurt School) to law. ... Comparative law has increased enormously in importance in the present age of internationalism, economic globalisation and democratisation. ... The following is a list of major areas of legal practice and important legal subject-matters. ...