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Simple English definitions for legal terms
judicial estoppel
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A quick definition of judicial estoppel:
Judicial estoppel is a legal rule that prevents someone from saying one thing in court and then saying something different in another court case. This rule is meant to stop people from being dishonest and changing their story to get a better outcome. If someone has already said something in court, they can't go back on their word later. This rule helps to make sure that the legal system is fair and honest.A more thorough explanation:
Judicial estoppel is a legal concept that prevents a party from taking a position in a legal proceeding that contradicts a position they took in a previous legal proceeding. This is to prevent a party from manipulating the legal system by changing their position to gain an advantage in a case.
For example, if a person files for bankruptcy and fails to disclose all of their assets, they cannot later sue someone for damages related to those assets. This is because they took a position in the bankruptcy proceeding that they did not have those assets, and they cannot now take a position that they do have those assets in a different legal proceeding.
Another example is if a person testifies in a criminal trial that they did not witness a crime, they cannot later sue someone for damages related to that crime by claiming they did witness it. This is because they took a position in the criminal trial that they did not witness the crime, and they cannot now take a position that they did witness it in a different legal proceeding.