noun
: an action commenced and prosecuted by amicable consent of the parties for the purpose of obtaining a decision of the court on some matter of law
amicable action, in the sense in which these words are used in courts of justice, presupposes that there is a real dispute between the parties concerning some matter of right … The amity consists in the manner in which it is brought to issue before the court. And such amicable actions, so far from being objects of censure, are always approved and encouraged — 49 United States 251, 255