Legal Definitions - allegata

Allegata refers to the statements of fact made by a party in a legal proceeding, which they assert to be true and intend to prove. These are the claims or assertions put forward by a litigant, such as a plaintiff or defendant, in their pleadings or other legal documents. While presented as facts, allegata are not yet proven and must be supported by evidence during the course of the legal process.

Here are some examples:

• In a civil lawsuit where a software company sues a former employee for violating a non-compete agreement, the company's complaint would contain allegata. These would include statements asserting that the employee accessed proprietary code before leaving, started a competing business within the restricted geographical area, and solicited the company's clients. These are the specific claims the company is making and will need to prove with evidence.

• When a homeowner files a claim against a construction company for shoddy workmanship, their legal filing would detail various allegata. For instance, they might assert that the roof leaks in multiple places, the foundation has visible cracks, and the plumbing was installed incorrectly, leading to water damage. Each of these specific assertions is an allegatum (the singular form), and collectively they form the allegata that the homeowner intends to prove in court.

• During a dispute over a will, a beneficiary might challenge its validity by presenting allegata. They could assert that the deceased lacked mental capacity at the time the will was signed, or that another party exerted undue influence to alter the will's terms. These are the factual claims made by the beneficiary that they believe invalidate the will and which they will attempt to substantiate with evidence.