Finding Cases by Case Name

The information in this article applies to the following LexisNexis^® products and services: Lexis+^®, Lexis^®.

There are multiple ways to find cases by case name. This is helpful if you know a case name but not the citation, you only know 1 party to the case but not the citation, or if you want to find all cases involving a party.

The following information illustrates common methods for finding cases by case name.

Finding cases with the case name
Finding cases with a specific party
Finding references to cases by case name

 Finding cases with the case name

When you know the case name but do not have the citation, enter the case name in the Search box. You can use this search to finding opinions under Cases and documents for the case under Briefs, Pleadings and Motions.

Two Party Cases (Plaintiff v. Defendant)

For two party cases, enter the party names separated by a v. or v and run the search. The v must be lower case. LexisNexis uses case recognition technology to search for the names in the case name. Exact matches to how you entered the search appear near the top of your results list when your results are sorted by relevance. Non-exact matches, though still including your party names, appear lower in the results list when your results are sorted by relevance.

For example, when you run a search for matsushita v zenith, your results include Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., and In re Japanese Elec. Prods. Antitrust Litig.:

• Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. appears higher in the results list because it is an exact match to your search matsushita v zenith because Matsushita is the first party and Zenith is the second party
• Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. appears lower in the results list because it is a non-exact to your search matsushita v zenith because the case involves those parties, but Zenith is the first party and Matsushita is the second party
• In re Japanese Elec. Prods. Antitrust Litig. appears in the results because when you look at the full long case name, you see Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. which matches your search criteria

Single Party Cases (In re Party)

For single party cases where the case name includes In re, Ex parte, Ex rel, In the matter of, Estate of, Will of, Matter of, On the relation of, On behalf of, For the use of, As next friend of, Petition of, or Application of, enter the party name in the Search box and run the search. Case recognition technology is used to search for the name along with the designation. For example, when you run a search for in re witherspoon, your results include In re Witherspoon, In re Estate of Witherspoon, and In re Objection to Nomination of Williams-Witherspoon.

Troubleshooting

Occasionally running a search using the party names as outlined above can retrieve unintended results. If you run the search and you feel your results are not what you are looking for, use one of the following methods to construct your search to find your case with the party names:

• Use the NAME segment to run your search, using the AND connector between the party names. For example, run the search name(matsushita and zenith). For more information, see NAME Segment for Litigation and Agency Materials . 
• Run the search using quotation marks around the v, In re, Ex parte, etc. For example, run the search "in re" witherspoon.
  Note: Using this method, the case you want will be near the top of the results list when sorted by relevance and you will see cases that cite to your case. For more information, see Finding References to cases by case name below.

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 Finding cases with a specific party

When you only know 1 party name or you are trying to find all cases with a specific party, use the NAME segment in your search to search only the case names to find your party.

For example, if you want to find all cases involving Samsung, run the following search: name(samsung).

For more information, see NAME Segment for Litigation and Agency Materials .

 

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 Finding references to cases by case name

If you want to find reference to a case and you do not know the citation, use one of the following methods to construct your search:

• Use a w/n connector in between the party names. Consider using w/10 or w/15 in your search to allow for the possibility of full party names instead of the shorter names typically used in a citation. For example, run the search matsushita w/10 zenith.
• Run the search using quotation marks around the v, In re, Ex parte, etc. For example, run the search "in re" witherspoon.

When you search using these methods, your results will also include the case you are using for your search. Those cases will be near the top of your results list when sorted by relevance.

 

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