Litigation records search
Also known as: Civil court records search · Civil litigation search · Court records search · Judgment and lien search · Civil records check
A search of the civil court records in which a person or company appears — as plaintiff or defendant — across federal and state courts, used to size up legal, financial and reputational risk before a decision.
Legal basis
PACER — Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Unlike a criminal background check, which looks at the criminal justice system, a litigation records search sweeps the civil side: contract disputes, collections, money judgments, liens, bankruptcies, employment claims and other civil suits. It is what a due diligence effort uses to see litigation a counterparty does not disclose — a supplier with a string of judgments against it, a prospective partner named as a defendant in a fraud suit.
In the US these records live in two systems. Federal cases are on PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), the judiciary's electronic docket; state and county civil matters sit in each jurisdiction's own court system, with no single national index. The care is in interpretation and fairness: a filing is not a judgment, common names collide, and the data is public but sensitive — so a serious search pulls the right record, classifies the nature and stage of each case, and never treats being a defendant as proof of liability.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a litigation records search and a criminal background check?
A criminal background check covers the criminal justice system. A litigation records search looks at civil court records — contract disputes, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, employment claims — in which a person or company is a party, to gauge legal and financial risk. A filing is not a judgment, and reading it calls for care with common names and with how the data may be used.