Parental Liability: a statutory law that obligates parents for certain wrongful acts committed by their children prior to achieving adulthood

Pecuniary Damage: financial losses incurred

Per Diem: (lat.) course of a day

Piercing the Corporate Veil: a legal doctrine that lifts a shareholder's shield of immunity for wrongful corporate activity under special circumstances

Plaintiff: the party who first initiates litigation

Pleadings: papers required to be filed by each party with the court which allege the facts, claims, and defenses involved in the case

Prayer: the relief sought by the plaintiff in the lawsuit as stated in his pleading to the court

Precedent: a deviation in a prior case which established a right or reasoning of law which must be followed in the present case

Pre-Emption: a judicial principle which states that certain federal laws apply over certain state laws

Preponderence of the Evidence: the standard of proof in civil cases, more likely than not

Presumption: a rule of law which allows the finding of one fact from the presentation of another fact shown, an irrebuttable presumption requires a finding of the presumed fact

Prevailing Party: the winning party in the matter

Prima Facie Case: the existence of some evidence on each required point of a case

Privity: a sufficient relationship between parties to the same rights or property

Product Liability: principle of statutory and/or common law that holds a manufacturer responsible without regard for negligence if the product is defective

Proffer (of evidence): to present to the record in a trial what evidence a party has on a given point after the court has refused its admission into evidence in order that a reviewing court can know what was excluded at the original proceeding

Pro Hac Vice: (lat.) for this one particular occasion

Pro Se: (lat.) for himself; in law, it refers to a person who represents himself without a lawyer

Punitive Damages: an award of money to punish the wrongdoer and to discourage all from similar wrongdoing