judgment in personam
Noun: A judgment in personam is a legal judgment issued by a court against a specific person or entity (such as a corporation). Its primary purpose is to compel that specific defendant to pay a sum of money as damages to the plaintiff. It creates a personal obligation on the defendant, in contrast to a judgment concerning property rights.
This term is used in legal contexts to describe a court's final decision that imposes a personal monetary liability. * The creditor obtained a judgment in personam against the debtor for the unpaid loan. * The lawsuit resulted in a judgment in personam ordering the company to pay for the environmental cleanup costs.
- Contrast with Judgment in Rem: A judgment in personam is fundamentally different from a "judgment in rem." While an judgment binds a specific person, a judgment is a judgment concerning the status of a specific piece of property or a legal status (like a marriage decree) and is binding against the whole world.
- The court's foreclosure decree was a judgment in rem regarding the land, whereas the separate suit for breach of contract led to a judgment in personam for monetary damages.
- Personal Judgment: This is a direct synonym for judgment in personam.
- Money Judgment: A common descriptive term emphasizing the award of monetary damages, which is the typical outcome of a judgment in personam.
- Judgment in Rem (n): As noted above, this is the contrasting legal term for a judgment determining rights in property.
- Personal judgment
- Decree in personam
This term has a specific, technical meaning in law. It does not have general or colloquial meanings outside of legal proceedings. Its core concept is the enforcement of a personal duty (to pay money) against a specific party.
- a judgment rendered against an individual (or corporation) for the payment of money damages