Champerty and maintenance are doctrines in
common law jurisdictions, that aim to preclude
frivolous litigation. "Maintenance" is the intermeddling of a disinterested party to encourage a
lawsuit. It is "A taking in hand, a bearing up or upholding of quarrels or sides, to the disturbance of the common right." "Champerty" is the "maintenance" of a person in a lawsuit on condition that the subject matter of the action is to be shared with the maintainer. Among laypersons, this is known as "buying into someone else's lawsuit."