Category Archives: Anatomy of a Lawsuit

[Anatomy articles provide a basic overview of the primary aspects of a lawsuit]

The three main stages of a lawsuit are the pleadings, discovery and trial.  The trial stage is the most well-known—when the evidence is presented, the case is argued, and a judgment is entered.  Trials to a judge and jury are known as jury trials, while trials just to a judge are called bench trials.  In most civil cases the parties have a constitutional right to a jury trial, but some cases must be tried only to a judge.  Parties may waive their rights to have a jury decide the case and choose to try their case just to a judge.

In civil cases the plaintiff has the burden of proof and must convince the judge or jury of their case, usually to the standard of proof known as the preponderance of the evidence.  That standard is met if the judge or jury decides that the facts establishing the claim are more probably true than not true, even if they are only 51% convinced.

The trial will proceed according to a court order worked out between the judge and the lawyers in advance, known as the pretrial order.  It identifies the claims and defenses of the parties, establishes the issues to be determined at the trial, the witnesses and exhibits to be presented, and other aspects of the trial.  While a trial is a very important and visible part of a lawsuit, it is the end product of much work behind the scenes.

Opening Aspects of Trials

In a jury trial, the first step is to select the jury from the potential jurors called for service.  That process is called voir dire.  The potential jurors are questioned to determine any biases or prejudices and to give the parties information on which to exercise challenges.  Any potential juror can be challenged for cause if a reason to question their fitness to serve is established.  Then each side will usually excuse three potential jurors with peremptory challenges, for which no reason needs to be given.  Those remaining will be the jury. Continue Reading

[Anatomy articles provide a basic overview of the primary aspects of a lawsuit.]

There are three primary stages to a lawsuit—pleading, discovery and trial.  The pleading stage is to get all relevant parties into court and for them to formally assert their claims and defenses against each other and determine the scope of the dispute.  The discovery stage is to allow the parties to obtain the information and evidence they need to effectively pursue or defend against or settle the case.  The trial stage is when the parties formally present their evidence to a judge or jury to determine disputed facts and decide the outcome of the case.  This article explains the pleading stage of a lawsuit.

The Petition or Complaint

A lawsuit begins when a plaintiff files a Petition with the court.  (In federal court it is called a Complaint.)  It is the first of the “pleadings.”  The Petition identifies the parties and should provide a short and plain statement of the basic facts that the plaintiff asserts constitute his claim.  It ends with a request for the remedy sought.

The plaintiff can assert multiple claims against the same defendant in one lawsuit.  There can be more than one plaintiff and more than one defendant if each claim arises out of the same situation and has some issue in common with the other claims.

When a Petition is filed, the court issues an order that the defendant must respond to the Petition, usually within 21 days, if he plans to defend against the claim.  This order is called the Summons, as it summons the defendant to appear in court. Continue Reading