Legal Definitions - failure to state a cause of action

Definition: Failure to state a cause of action means that a legal complaint or claim does not have enough information to support a legal case. It is a deficiency or lack of information that prevents a case from moving forward.

Example: If someone sues another person for breach of contract but does not provide any details about the contract or how it was breached, the court may dismiss the case for failure to state a cause of action. This is because the complaint does not provide enough information to support a legal claim.

Explanation: The example illustrates how a legal complaint can be dismissed if it does not provide enough information to support a legal claim. In this case, the plaintiff did not provide enough details about the contract or how it was breached, which is necessary to support a legal claim for breach of contract. As a result, the court may dismiss the case for failure to state a cause of action.