sue for

sue for (something)

To initiate legal proceedings (against some person, group, or organization) in order to receive redress, reparation, or compensation. A noun or pronoun can be used between "sue" and "for" to indicated the person, group, or organization being sued. The employees have grouped together to sue for overtime that had not been paid since 2010. The family is suing the airline for $2.5 million to cover medical expenses, legal fees, and emotional damages.
See also: sue
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

sue someone for something

to file a lawsuit against someone in order to get something. I will sue you for damages if you do anything else to my car! She sued her employer for failure to provide a safe workplace.
See also: sue

sue for something

to file a lawsuit in order to get something. If you so much as harm a hair on my head, I will sue for damages. Ted sued for back pay in his dispute with a former employer.
See also: sue
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

sue for

v.
1. To institute legal proceedings against some person for some redress of grievances: The actor is suing a former TV star for $30 million. Their aunt and uncle sued for custody of the children.
2. To make an appeal or entreaty for something: The people of this country are suing for peace.
See also: sue
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • angle
  • angling
  • not do (someone or oneself) any favors
  • involve with
  • involve with (someone or something)
  • involved with
  • buy (yourself) time
  • buy time
  • arrange for
  • arrange some music for
References in periodicals archive
KERRY Katona has threatened not to pay to her mum Sue for help with her upcoming autobiography.
KERRY'S BOOK CASH ROW WITH MOTHER; EXCLUSIVE Bust-up after Sue tells her: Dump Mark
Unable to spend a penny with women in nearby cubicles, he tried to sue for pounds 3million, but lost in the end.
SO SUE ME! Strange but true reasons people have tried for compensation
The authors thank Derald Wing Sue for his interview information and comments from personal communications for the article.
Profiling Derald Wing Sue: blazing the trail for the multicultural journey and social justice in counseling
The Texas law under which the Supreme Court case arose allowed patients to sue for failing to exercise ordinary care when making health treatment decisions.
Supreme Court ruling windfall for HMOs may be short-lived
That would be state law, so the SysTrust practitioner faces 50 jurisdictions, each with the authority to determine the legal standard under which nonclients have a legal right to sue for negligence.
SysTrust and third-party risk
Other times, as in Davis, O'Connor joins the liberals but seems to negotiate them down to a compromise position professedly reserving the right to sue for severe or egregious cases, given "the inevitability of student misconduct and the amount of litigation that would be invited" by going further (to quote her opinion in Davis).
Title IX's invisible ink
A specialist at Birmingham General Hospital recommended Sue for our Give A Girl Health fund.
Asthma girl Sue hits the road for cash
Up until a couple of years ago, a broker who performed his services in New York could sue for commissions in New York no matter where the property was located, explained Gurfein.
NY courts open to brokers suing for NJ commissions
They'd sue when you gave a bad reference, then sue for failure to warn - failure to give a bad reference when your old employee committed some atrocity in his new job.
Occupational hazards