Anatomy of a Lawsuit – Part One
Hopefully, you have been fortunate to avoid having to pursue or defend a lawsuit and will not have to do so in the future. However, in the event that you do find yourself entangled in civil litigation, the following is a brief description of the process- the Anatomy of a Lawsuit – which consists of five phases: Pleadings, Discovery, Motion for Summary Judgment, Arbitration and Trial. Due to the length of this subject, it will be divided into two parts, the first of which covers Pleadings, Discovery and Summary Judgment Motions.
Pleadings
The Pleadings stage is the beginning of a Lawsuit. Once the parties decide that a dispute cannot be settled and court intervention is required, the injury party, called the Plaintiff, files a Complaint with the Court. A Complaint is the written document starting the Lawsuit and it sets forth the Plaintiff’s dispute with the other party, called the Defendant. The Complaint also describes what the Plaintiff seeks to recover in the Lawsuit. Once the Complaint is filed with the Court, it must be served on (delivered to) the Defendant. Then, the Defendant is required to respond to the Complaint or else lose the Lawsuit by Default (failure to answer). The Defendant must prepare an Anwer, which responds to each allegation in the Complaint. The Defendant must also set forth any other defenses to the Plaintiff’s Complaint. After the Answer is served on the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff files a Reply to the Defendant’s defenses. Then, the Pleadings stage is over.
Discovery
After the Pleadings stage, the parties engage in Discovery in order to prepare for Arbitration or Trial. The purpose of Discovery is to allow each party to learn about the other party’s case, such as what witness will be called to testify and what will say. In addition, each party can ask the other what documents or evidence will be used in the lawsuit. In Discovery, each party can send written questions to the other side (Interrogatories) and can ask the other party to provide copies of relevant documents (Requests for Production). Each party can also interview the other party under oath regarding the subject matter of the case (Deposition). Other witnesses can be subpoenaed for Depositions and either party can issue subpoenas for relevant documents from people other than the other party. If properly done, the Discovery process ensures that there will be no surprises at the Arbitration or Trial.
Summary Judgment
After completion of the Pleadings and Discovery phases, one party may feel so confident in the strength of his or her case that he or she will feel that a trial is not necessary. In such a case, that party will ask the judge to decide the case in his or her favor before trial by granting Summary Judgment. The procedure involves the party filing a written motion with the court explaining why the evidence so strongly favors his or her case and asking for a judgment without a trial. Then, the other party must file a response explaining that there is evidence supporting his or her case and a trial is necessary. If the Summary Judgment motion is granted, one party wins and the case is over. If the motion is denied the case proceeds o Arbitration or Trial. Once the Pleadings, Discovery and Summary Judgment stages are complete, the lawsuit is ready to go to Arbitration or Trial. In the next Post, I will describe those phases. Stay tuned!
Tim Rayne, Esquire – MacElree Harvey, Ltd. 211 E. State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348 (610) 840-0124 trayne@macelree.com
Tags: accident, attorney, Civil Litigation, injury, lawsuit, lawyer, Pennsylvania law
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