The short answer
A litigation search looks up court dockets and enforcement records involving a company or person to find lawsuits, judgments and regulatory actions — and, crucially, what role the subject played in each.
At a glance
- Term
- Litigation search
- Also known as
- court records search · litigation check
- Category
- Screening & risk
- Where it matters
- Company and founder due diligence
Litigation search in practice
Being in court is normal business: companies sue to collect debts and enforce contracts. What matters is the role (plaintiff or defendant), the nature of the case and its status.
Regulatory enforcement — releases from agencies such as the SEC, DOJ, FTC or national financial regulators — is often more telling than private litigation.
Why litigation search matters
- Defendant in fraud, securities or employment cases: a material risk signal.
- Plaintiff enforcing its own contracts: usually not a red flag.
- Regulatory actions: fines, orders and bans with direct consequences.
Litigation search in MarketPrior
MarketPrior reads US federal and state dockets through CourtListener/RECAP and enforcement releases from the SEC, DOJ, FTC, CFTC, CFPB and other agencies, plus European regulators such as ESMA’s register, BaFin and French authorities. The subject’s party role is read from the caption: suing to enforce its own contracts is not a red flag; being a defendant is. Nature and status set the weight.
PACER is not read directly because of per-page fees; CourtListener/RECAP is used instead, so coverage of some US federal dockets depends on what RECAP holds.