If a child is sued, the action may only be instituted against them by naming both the child and a litigation guardian for the child as a respondent or interested party. The applicant must also file a guardian certificate at the same time.
Technically, the right to sue someone doesn't vest until the person is an adult which means the person can sue once they turn 18. California law allows for the statute of limitations to be put on hold until the minor turns 18.
If you are under 18 and wish to sue someone, you will need a “next friend” unless the court considers otherwise, and your next friend will require a lawyer. A “next friend” is an adult who will help you conduct the case and will usually be either your parents or legal guardian.
About legal age in Australia
As your child grows up and becomes more independent, you might be wondering how old they need to be before they can do certain things. In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old.
You Can Sue a Minor for Defamation
Suppose a neighbor kid posts malicious lies about you on social media. You can sue them for defamation. There are two types of defamation: Libel, which is written, and slander, which is spoken.
To be defamatory, the material has to be published(communicated by any means, including written, orally, pictorially) to at least one person other than the person making the claim. The intention of the publisher does not matter and liability for defamation can arise even from unintended errors.
Defamation is a civil law matter
Defamation law is a civil matter (i.e. between individuals or companies), not a criminal offence. This means that police do not get involved in disputes relating to defamation.
If the sex is consensual (and it must be enthusiastic consent) and the other party is also aged 16 years or over it is not against the law, although there are some exceptions: If the person is very drunk or under the influence of drugs, they may not have the capacity to consent so having sex with them is an offence.
This is exactly two years. For example, if a person is 17 and has sex with someone who is 15, it is not a crime. But if the person was 18, it is a crime unless the person believed the person was 16 or older. For more information about what is considered a sexual act, see Sexual assault.
It is not illegal to become pregnant at any age, and this includes making your own decisions about the pregnancy – abortion, adoption, keeping it.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
Each state has its own limit to non-physical damage compensation that affects how much a victim can earn for emotional distress. On average, Australian psychological distress victims earn around $350,000 or more.
court filing fee of $197. if claim is not defended: legal fee of $600 (2 hours) to prepare court documents for default judgment. if claim is defended: legal fee of $1200 (4 hours) to read the defence and advise whether the firm is likely to be successful.
At law, a person under the age of eighteen cannot bring an action against another person without a litigation guardian. The litigation guardian's name is to appear on all the court documents.
If you're under 18, you're liable for your own negligence and can be sued, but your age would be taken into account when deciding whether the behaviour was negligent. A parent has a duty to take reasonable care to see that their child doesn't cause harm to others.
You can sue emancipated minors, that is, people under 18 who are legally treated as adults. This includes minors who are on active duty in the armed services, are married, or have been emancipated (freed from parental control) by court order.
Romeo and Juliette laws
In most Australian states, provisions exist whereby it is a defence to a child sex offence if the participants were teenagers of a similar age in a consensual relationship.
If you are 16 years old and above, you can legally have sex (or do another sexual activity) with another person who is 16 years or older as long as you both agree to it.
Section 3(1) of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 (Tas.) defines a child as a person under 18 years of age.
TOKYO, Japan — Japan's parliament on Friday raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, a limit which had remained unchanged for more than a century and was among the world's lowest, amid calls for greater protection of children and women.
The purpose of statutory rape laws is to help prevent teenage pregnancies. Generally speaking, an 18-year-old can date a 16-year-old provided that the relationship is not sexual. If the relationship becomes sexual, then it could be illegal depending on the state.
The dating age rule to determining a socially acceptable age difference in partners goes something like this: half your age plus seven (40 = 20 +7 = 27) to define the minimum age of a partner and your age minus seven times two (40 = 33 * 2 = 60) to define the maximum age of a partner.
To be able to sue someone for negligence you have to prove a number of things, including: That you were owed a 'duty of care' by someone; That person breached their duty of care; You suffered some sort of injury because of that person's negligence.
To succeed in an action for injurious falsehood it must be shown that there has been a monetary loss suffered and that the statement is false and was made dishonestly or within intent to cause loss and without any lawful justification. It is not possible to defame a dead person [see Defamation Act 2005 (SA) s 10].
Any person can sue for defamation. As discussed earlier, the principle elements of the cause of action are: (1) the communication has been published to a third person; (2) the communication identifies (or is about) that person; and (3) the communication is defamatory.