Civil litigation occurs when two or more parties have a dispute where one (or more) claims the other(s) have committed a civil “wrong”, but not a crime, and papers initiating the lawsuit are filed in a court of law. The complaining party is known as the plaintiff and the party alleged to have committed the wrong is known as the defendant.

Civil litigation encompasses many aspects and fields of law. But in general, this is the legal process that most people think of when the word "lawsuit" is used.