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Filing a Lawsuit
1. Plaintiff files a complaint and summons with the local county
court. When a matter
becomes involved in a lawsuit, the process becomes known as
litigation.
2. The complaint and summons are served on the Defendant or a
designated registered agent.
The Defendant may either be served by mail or personally by a
process server.
3. After being served, the Defendant has a specified time period
to file an answer with the
Court. An answer is a document that must be filed with the Court
that responds in writing to
the allegations set forth in the complaint. It will have the
same caption as the complaint and
will be filed with the same court.
4. The next stage of the lawsuit process is known as Discovery.
Discovery allows for each party
to request information including answers to questions and
documents. Such requests will come
in the form of Admissions (asking you to deny or admit stated
facts), Interrogatories (detailed
questions concerning the facts of the case) and Production
(asking the opposing party to
produce relevant documents).
5. Failing to respond to Discovery in a timely or factual manner
can lead to severe legal
consequences. However, the opposing counsel will typically file
a Motion to Compel. A Motion
to Compel asks the judge to enforce the Discovery requests
against the opposing party. It is
important to answer Discovery in a truthful and timely manner
even if you do not agree with
the information or allegations the opposing party is making.
Motions are written requests asking the court to do something.
Filing a formal motion is the
only way to make such a request. Some motions will require a
hearing to be held where partiesmust appear in court for the judge
to make a decision. For most motions, the judge can make a
formal ruling in writing without a hearing.
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6. A motion for Entry Default Judgment should be filed when the
Defendant(s) fail to answer
the Complaint. The judge will review the motion and the grounds
for seeking the money and
make a ruling. If the judge approves the motion, a formal
Default Judgment will be entered
against the Defendant ordering them to pay damages.
When a Default Judgment is entered against a Defendant, the
Defendant has a specified time
period to pay the judgment or dispute the judgment. If the
Defendant fails to pay or dispute the
judgment within the specified time period, he or she can be
found in contempt of court.
7. Most lawsuits then proceed into mediation where a settlement
is hopefully reached
between the parties. Typically this occurs after each party
meets with a mediator who reviews
the facts of the case in an independent manner and makes a
recommendation. Courts will oftenrequire that parties participate
in mediation before trial to try to reach a settlement. A
settlement reached in mediation will be binding on the parties.
Courts hear thousands of claims
per year, and this is one way to remedy the conflict without
having to enter a courtroom.
8. If mediation is not successful, or the case goes directly to
trial, a judge or jury will make a
ruling and enter a judgment at the close of all evidence and
argument. Trials can often take
several days, require expert witness testimony (even in civil
trials) and cost several thousands
of dollars. It is important that you have a strong claim when
bringing a case to the trial process.
9. After the judge enters a judgment, the losing party will have
to pay on the judgment. Many
parties fail to pay the judgment. Upon failure to act or pay on
the judgment, the winning party
may need to enforce the judgment. This process requires that the
party file a Petition for
Contempt, have the opposing party served by a Sheriff and submit
proof of service to the Clerk
of Court to obtain a Court hearing. The Court will then use
legal means necessary to obtain the
judgment including garnishment of wages and other income.
