Using litigation in a sentence is easier once you treat the word as the name for the whole court process of resolving a dispute, not just one step of it. You can enter litigation, avoid it, pursue it, or endure it. Someone who says “we’re in litigation” could be filing a complaint, trading documents in discovery, arguing a motion, sitting through trial, or waiting on an appeal.
Everyday Sentences
In ordinary conversation, the word signals that a disagreement has moved past informal talk and into (or toward) court. A natural example: “The neighbors threatened litigation over the property line, so we hired a surveyor.” The listener understands the dispute is serious without needing any procedural detail.
A few more that sound right out loud:
- “The family decided to avoid litigation and settle the medical bills through their insurance company.”
- “After two years of litigation, the judge finally ruled in favor of the tenants.”
- “Nobody wanted litigation, but the contractor refused to fix the damage.”
The common mistake is using “litigation” as a synonym for the trial itself, or for the filing alone. It covers all of it, start to finish.
Business Sentences
Corporate settings give the word the most work. Managers and in-house counsel use it for contract fights, intellectual property disputes, and employment claims:
- “The board authorized litigation to protect the company’s patent portfolio from a competitor’s infringement.”
- “Our HR department flagged potential litigation risk after receiving a discrimination complaint under Title VII.”
- “Pending litigation forced the company to set aside a $4 million reserve on last quarter’s balance sheet.”
That last sentence reflects a real rule: publicly traded companies have to disclose significant pending litigation in their financial reports, which is why the word turns up so often in earnings calls.
Insurance language brings its own phrasing. Most commercial liability policies include a duty to defend, meaning the insurer must provide and pay for a lawyer when the policyholder gets sued. A standard sentence: “Our insurer is covering the litigation costs under the general liability policy.”
Sentences in Legal Documents and Court
Lawyers use “litigation” to mark the scope of a proceeding or the moment it ends. Settlement agreements often read: “Upon execution of this agreement, the parties agree to dismiss all pending litigation with prejudice.” That tells the court to close the case permanently once the deal is signed.
Before a case is filed, attorneys send a litigation hold letter telling the other side to preserve relevant documents. A typical line reads: “Plaintiff hereby places Defendant on notice to preserve all records relevant to the anticipated litigation.” Destroying evidence after receiving one of these can draw sanctions.
In federal court, a judge can impose penalties under Rule 11 when someone files litigation that is frivolous or meant purely to harass. Sanctions range from monetary fines to orders requiring the offending party to pay the other side’s attorney fees, and the law firm behind the filing can be held jointly responsible.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11 – Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
Appeals extend the vocabulary further: “The defendant filed a notice of appeal within 30 days of the judgment, extending the litigation into the appellate court.”
Sentences in Journalism and Academic Writing
Reporters use the word to compress years of legal maneuvering into a readable line. A news article might say, “The settlement ended a decade of litigation over Clean Air Act violations at the refinery.” One sentence conveys that there was a lawsuit, it dragged on, and it resolved short of a final verdict.
Academic writing tends to treat litigation as a trend or category:
- “The rise in class-action litigation has reshaped how corporations approach product safety.”
- “Environmental litigation under federal statutes increased by 18 percent over the study period.”
- “Scholars continue to debate whether mass litigation produces meaningful regulatory change or merely transfers wealth to attorneys.”
Notice how an adjective narrows the scope: mass litigation, commercial litigation, constitutional litigation. Each phrase points to a recognized corner of the legal system.
Related Words That Travel With Litigation
A litigant is a person or organization involved in a lawsuit, on either side. Calling someone litigious means they have a reputation for suing frequently or eagerly. Pre-litigation describes steps taken before a lawsuit is filed, such as demand letters or settlement negotiations. And when a dispute is resolved through alternative dispute resolution rather than litigation, the parties used mediation or arbitration instead of going to court.