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In litigation, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof, which requires the plaintiff to present evidence on all of the elements of the cause of action. In addition, the plaintiff must meet the standard of proof. There are two options that might apply for the standard of proof, preponderance of the evidence and clear and convincing.
Preponderance of the evidence means evidence that is more probably true than not true. Think 51%. The clear and convincing evidence standard is higher than 51%; requiring a quantum of evidence beyond a mere preponderance of evidence, but below beyond a reasonable doubt. This standard is sometimes described as "clear, cogent, and convincing evidence." Examples where this higher standard applies are fraud, proving the actual malice element in defamation cases and proving a will is invalid in a probate case. There are others too; this list is not exhaustive. Contact Mark D. Walters Comments are closed.
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