Outcome
Last updated
Last updated
(array[string])
What kind of relief was awarded in the case. (If a type of relief was sought but denied, it is not included here.)
Attorneys fees
Money awarded to compensate the attorneys on the other side.
Declaratory Judgment
A judgment that states the court's authoritative opinion. Unlike an injunction (below), a declaratory judgment does not require a party to take action or pay money.
Injunction/Injunctive-like Settlement
An injunction is a court order that requires a party to stop or start doing something. An injunctive-like settlement is for when the case settles before an injunction can be issued, but the terms of the settlement require a party to stop or start doing something (likely what the plaintiffs sought an injunction for in the first place).
Criminal Conviction
In a criminal case, a final judgment on a verdict of guilty, a plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere (where a criminal defendant does not accept or deny responsibility for the charges but agrees to accept punishment).
Damages
Money awarded in the case. This can include compensatory damages (to compensate the victim) and punitive damages (to punish the offending party).
Document/information produced
Where the defendant(s) provided the requested documents or information. This is common with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases.
Habeas relief
An individual successfully challenged their criminal conviction and imprisonment in a civil suit. Habeas is generally considered an individual's last resort attempt to overturn their sentence.
Preliminary injunction/Temp. restraining order
An order issued before the final judgment of the case that requires a party to stop or start doing something.
Warrant/Order allowing surveillance
In cases before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court), a warrant or order for electronic surveillance of someone suspected of spying with or for a foreign government.
None
No relief was awarded in the case.
None yet
There could still be relief awarded in the case, but the case is ongoing.
Unknown
We do not know what relief was awarded in the case.
If this field is an empty array, then the case's metadata is likely not complete – see .
(string)
Types of relief awarded that are not in the Clearinghouse's predefined list. It is rare for a case to have something for this field; in most cases, relief_nature_other will be an empty string.
(array[string])
The source of the relief awarded in the case. The values "None", "None yet", and "Unknown" correspond to the same options under relief_natures.
Litigation
The relief was ordered through a court order.
Settlement
The relief was a result of a settlement agreement.
None
No relief was awarded in the case.
None yet
There could still be relief awarded in the case, but the case is ongoing.
Unknown
We do not know what relief was awarded in the case.
(array[string])
The form of the settlement agreement, if there is one in the case.
Conditional Dismissal
When the plaintiff agrees to dismiss the case if and only if the defendant complies with some settlement terms. If the defendant fails to live up to those terms, the result is the reinstitution of the case.
Confession of Judgment
When the defendant agrees to liability. This is very unusual.
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
If the parties agree to a settlement, and the court issues an order approving it. This is very common.
Private Settlement Agreement
If the parties agree to a settlement that is not approved by the court. The settlement terms are often private.
Voluntary Dismissal
When the plaintiff movees to dismiss the case, and the court grants the motion. This is often done by agreement when the parties settle for monetary damages but no injunction.
If there is no settlement agreement in the case, then this field will be an empty array.
(string)
Which party "won" the case. This doesn't necessarily have to be by a formal judgment; we also look at what relief has been awarded, whether through court orders or settlements, to determine which party prevailed.
Plaintiff
The plaintiff(s) obtained any sort of relief, even if minor.
Defendant
The defendant(s) prevailed.
Mixed
Both sides received some of what they were hoping for.
None Yet/None
Neither side prevailed or there is no outcome yet.
Unknown
We don't know which side prevailed.
If there has been a district court judgment but the case is pending appeal, prevailing_party reflects who won in district court.
(string)
How much the defendants paid as a result of the lawsuit. This is the combined amount for all damages, attorneys' fees, and any other costs. For cases where many payments happen over the course of some period of time (especially attorneys' fees), this value may not include all of the payments.
The format of this string varies, but here are some examples of how this string might be formatted:
5000
5000.00
5,000
5,000.00
$5,000
$5,000.00
In addition, sometimes this string contains text when we do not have an exact number. For example:
redacted from court transcript
roughly $1,000,000
up to $1 billion
If this field is an empty array, then the case's metadata is likely not complete – see .
If this field is an empty array, then the case's metadata is likely not complete – see .
If this string is empty, there are a few possible reasons: we do not know how much the defendants paid, the defendants did not pay anything, or the case is still going. Also the case's metadata may not be complete – see .