Nonsuit
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 57 U.S. 354 - Homer v. Brown · 1853Most cited · 54 citing opinions
A judgment of nonsuit is only given after the appearance of the defendant, when, from any delay or other fault of the plaintiff against the rules of law in any subsequent stage of the case, he has not followed the remedy which he has chosen to assert his claim as he ought to do. For such delinquency or mistake he may be nonpros'd , and is liable to pay the costs. But as nothing positive can be implied from the plaintiff's error as to the subject-matter of his suit, he may reassert it by the same remedy in another suit, if it be appropriate to his cause of action, or by any other which is so, if the first was not.
How often courts cite the cases defining “Nonsuit”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “Nonsuit” — 93 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1828–1853
- ORIGINAL
The Court has had this case under its consideration, and is of opinion that the Circuit Court had no authority to order a peremptory nonsuit, against the will of the plaintiff. He had a right by law to a trial by a jury, and to have had the case submitted to them. He might agree to a nonsuit; but if he did not so choose, the Court could not compel him to submit to it.
cannot be compelled against plaintiff's will