Have you been sued or are you looking to file a lawsuit?  If so, you are likely involved, or seeking to be involved, in what is called a “civil suit.”  You may have been sued or want to sue if you or someone on your property sustained a slip-and-fall injury, trip-and-fall injury, or some other injury while on your premises or another person’s premises.  The legal terms for your “status” when on someone else’s property are invitee, licensee, and guest. Or, you may have been involved in a car accident.  Did someone file a lawsuit against you?  Are you thinking of filing a lawsuit against someone else?  If so, this would be another kind of civil lawsuit.