NON SUIT

The name of a judgment given against a plaintiff, when be is unable to prove his case, or when he refuses or neglects to proceed to the trial of a cause after it has been put at issue, without determining such issue.

It is either voluntary or involuntary.

A voluntary nonsuit is an abandonment of his cause by a plaintiff, and an agreement that a judgment for costs be entered against him.

An involuntary nonsuit takes placs when the Plaintiff on being called, when his case is before the court for trial, neglects to appear, or when he has given no evidence upon which a jury could find a verdict.

The courts of the United States cannot order a nonsuit against a plaintiff who has given evidence of his claim.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.