file
filed fil·ing vt 1 a : to submit (a legal document) to the proper office (as the office of a clerk of court) for keeping on file among the records esp. as a procedural step in a legal transaction or proceeding [
filed a tax return] [a financing statement
filed with the Secretary of State] [
filing a notice of appeal]
;also : record [
filed a mortgage in the Registry of Deeds]
NOTE: In nearly all cases, a document is deemed to be filed when it is actually received by the office to which it is directed. A few cases, however, have held that a document is filed upon the mailing of it. b : to place (as a document) on file among the records of an office esp. by formally receiving and endorsing [a complaint
filed by the clerk despite the absence of the filing fee]
2 : to return (the documentation in a case) to the records of a clerk of court without any determination of the case
;broadly : to conclude (a case) without a determination on its merits
3 : to initiate (a judicial or administrative proceeding) by submitting the proper documents or following proper procedure
: bring [threatened to charges] [two separate actions were
filed by representatives of the estates "J. H. Friedenthal
et al."]
vi 1 : to register as a candidate esp. in a primary election
2 : to place items in a file
n
: a collection of papers or publications usually arranged or classified
;specif : the papers that make up the record of a case
on file : in or as if in a file for ready reference