Friendly Suit

A lawsuit brought by an executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person in the name of a creditor as if that creditor had initiated the action. The executor or administrator brings the suit against himself or herself in order to compel the creditors to take an equal distribution of the assets of the estate. An action brought by parties who agree to submit some doubtful question to the court in order to obtain an opinion on that issue.

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friendly suit n. a lawsuit filed in order to obtain a court order when the parties to the suit agree on the expected outcome. Such a legal action will be dismissed if it is an attempt to get an advisory opinion, is collusive (deceitfully planned) to get a judgment to set a legal precedent, or where there is no real controversy. However, there are situations in which the statutes require a court ruling to achieve a "reasonable result," such as reforming (correcting) a trust or agreement in which there was an error.