Multiplicity of suits is a term to describe when more than one lawsuit exists regarding the same transaction or occurrence. The law generally attempts to avoid this situation and there are several rules in place when such situations occur. The main risk with several lawsuits over the same subject matter is that the different lawsuits may result in clearly contradictory results.
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is in the plaintiff's favor, and a variety of court orders may be issued to enforce a right, award damages, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.
For example, a litigant is injured when crossing a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, joining it to Hull, Quebec due to defects in the roadway. This could result in a lawsuit against the city of Ottawa, the city of Hull, the province of Ontario, the province of Quebec, and even the federal government of Canada. However, court rules often require governments to be sued in their own courts. This situation would require three different lawsuits - one in Ontario, one in Quebec, and one in the Federal Court of Canada. As such, usually one court will accept jurisdiction over the entire matter, and any proceedings or attempt to remove it to the other court will be stayed.
Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.
Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.
The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. The Court was split in 2003 into two separate Courts, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, although the jurisdiction and powers of the Courts remained largely unchanged.
In addition, courts discourage more than one lawsuit being started between the same parties in the same dispute. For example, in a business dispute, if new causes of action arise out of the same problem (for example, ongoing patent infringement), the court will generally require new allegations to be brought into the existing lawsuit rather than allowing a new lawsuit to be started.
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or selling the patented invention. In many countries, a use is required to be commercial to constitute patent infringement.
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