Noun

Singular complaint

Plural complaints

complaint (plural complaints)

1. (law) In a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based; The purpose is to give notice to the adversary of the nature and basis of the claim asserted.
2. (law) In criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer, usually a magistrate. However, court proceedings, such as a trial, cannot be instituted until an indictment or information has been handed down against the defendant.
3. a grievance, problem, difficulty, or concern; the act of complaining

   I have no complaints about the quality of his work, but I don't enjoy his company.

4. a bodily disorder or disease; the symptom of such a disorder

   Don't come too close, I've got this nasty complaint.

In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as low quality service at a store, or from a local government, etc. In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party (the plaintiffs) believes are sufficient to support a claim against another person, persons, entity or entities (the defendants) that entitles the plaintiff(s) to a remedy (either money damages or injunctive relief). For example, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that govern civil litigation in United States courts provide that a civil action is commenced with the filing or service of a pleading called a complaint. Civil court rules in states that have incorporated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure use the same term for the same pleading.

In some jurisdictions, specific types of criminal cases may also be commenced by the filing of a complaint, also sometimes called a criminal complaint or felony complaint. All criminal cases are prosecuted in the name of the governmental authority that promulgates criminal statutes and enforces the police power of the state with the goal of seeking criminal sanctions, such as the State (also sometimes called the People) or Crown (in Commonwealth Realms). In the United States, the complaint is often associated with misdemeanor criminal charges presented by the prosecutor without the grand jury process. In most U.S. jurisdictions, the charging instrument presented to and authorized by a grand jury is referred to as an indictment.

In many U.S. jurisdictions, a complaint submitted to a court must be accompanied by a Case Information Statement, which sets forth specific key information about the case and the lawyers representing the parties. This allows the judge to make determinations about which deadlines to set for different phases of the case, as it moves through the court system.

In some countries, (for example Australia and the UK and many countries of the European Community), the making of consumer complaints, particularly regarding the sale of financial services, is governed by statute. The statutory authority may require companies to reply to complaints within set time limits, publish written procedures for handling customer dissatisfaction and provide information about arbitration schemes.

• When a man is full of the Holy Ghost, he is the very last man to be complaining of other people.
  • D.L. Moody

• Every one must see daily instances of people who complain from a mere habit of complaining.
  • Richard Graves, Olla Podrida 6 October 1787

• There is an unfortunate disposition in a man to attend much more to the faults of his companions which offend him, than to their perfections which please him.
  • Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke

• No talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, is required to set up in the grumbling business; but those who are moved by a genuine desire to do good have little time for murmuring or complaint.
  • Robert West

• I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba and cry, 'Tis all barren!
  • Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768) In the Street, Calais

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