Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: manifest constitutional error
Consolidate: To bring things together and make them into one. This can happen when different court cases with the same people or issues are combined into one case with one final decision.
Definition: Consolidate (verb) means to combine or unify into one mass or body. In civil procedure, it refers to combining two or more legal actions involving the same parties or issues into a single action that ends in a single judgment or sometimes separate judgments.
Example 1: The company decided to consolidate its two factories into one to save money on rent and utilities.
Example 2: The judge ordered the consolidation of two lawsuits filed against the same defendant for the same incident.
Explanation: In Example 1, the company is combining its two factories into one to save money. This illustrates the first definition of consolidate, which means to combine or unify into one mass or body. In Example 2, the judge is combining two lawsuits involving the same parties or issues into a single action that will end in a single judgment. This illustrates the second definition of consolidate, which refers to combining legal actions.