Anton Piller order

noun

A court order allowing a plaintiff to go to someone's premises and seize documents (entry must be with that person's permission, but if refused would be a contempt of court). Used in extreme cases when a prospective defendant might destroy documents, especially computer files, if they knew a court case was coming.

Similar
search order
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Meanings

nounAnton Piller order (plural Anton Piller orders)

plural Anton Piller orders

  1. lawA court order allowing a plaintiff to go to someone's premises and seize documents (entry must be with that person's permission, but if refused would be a contempt of court). Used in extreme cases when a prospective defendant might destroy documents, especially computer files, if they knew a court case was coming.

    Synonyms: search order

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA court order allowing a plaintiff to go to someone's premises and seize documents (entry must be with that person's permission, but if refused would be a contempt of court). Used in extreme cases when a prospective defendant might destroy documents, especially computer files, if they knew a court case was coming.

Similar
search order

Origin

Named after the 1976 British case of Anton Piller KG v Manufacturing Processes Limited, a leading case on the issuance of such orders (Anton Piller KG, the plaintiff and party requesting the order, was a German manufacturing firm).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Anton Piller order. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anton%20Piller%20order

MLA

“Anton Piller order.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anton%20Piller%20order. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Anton Piller order,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anton%20Piller%20order.

Source: Anton Piller order on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.