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In defense of parent comment, I think this is actually a correct usage. As a verb, 'prosecute', doesn't necessarily imply criminal action, just pressing a claim
by perpetualpatzer 8y ago
In defense of parent comment, I think this is actually a correct usage. As a verb, 'prosecute', doesn't necessarily imply criminal action, just pressing a claim. The first definition per Google is "institute legal proceedings against."
- pc86 8y agoAll of the specific legal definitions indicate alleged violation of criminal law, and the example text for that Google search (obstruction of a highway) is also criminal, not civil. I'm not aware of any common usage of "prosecute" that refers to civil complaints.
- perpetualpatzer 8y agoTo name a couple in the legal context specifically: * under the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a civil plaintiff who doesn't show up to trial has their case dismissed for failure to prosecute [0][1] * a claim of malicious prosecution can be brought based on an unjustified criminal or civil claim (though some jurisdictions do call the tort "abuse of process" if it's based on a civil claim)[2] [0] https://definitions.uslegal.com/f/failure-to-prosecute/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/f/failure-to-prosecute/ [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_41 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_41 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malicious_prosecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malicious_prosecution