Lawsuit Anatomy
By: Frederick
Graves, Esq.
Anatomy of a Lawsuit
Learning the anatomy of civil lawsuits is
as easy as spelling "CAT".
Complaint - Answer - Trial
It's as simple as that!
Master this simple truth and you will
soon be operating successfully in court.
Plaintiffs file complaints.
Defendants file answers.
Judges examine the facts and law at trial
to decide who wins.
It's not difficult if you keep these
three steps in mind.
Every lawsuit has this same fundamental
anatomy.
Complaint. Answer. Trial.
If you can spell "CAT", you can master
the basics.
C = Complaint Where the case begins, when
the plaintiff complains.
A = Answer Where the defendant responds
to the plaintiff's complaint.
T = Trial Where the judge (or jury)
decides the final verdict.
After the plaintiff files his complaint,
the defendant may file a flurry of motions
that seek to have the complaint stricken or
dismissed so he need not answer.
If the flurry of motions fails, the
defendant must answer the complaint.
Once the defendant is compelled to answer
the complaint (and sometimes before) both
parties are permitted to engage in discovery
of evidence procedures, i.e., to demand
production of documents and things, to
require the other side to admit facts and
law under oath, to ask relevant questions of
anyone, to put evidence on the public
record, and to attempt to settle the case
and avoid the expense, delay, and
uncertainty of going to trial.
If the parties cannot settle their
dispute during the discovery phase, the
court must examine the evidence, hear
testimony, consider arguments of law, and
render its final judgment.
It's just that simple.
By knowing this, you can write a powerful
complaint or avoid filing an answer by
moving the court to dismiss or strike the
complaint or require a confusing or poorly
worded complaint to be re-written. You can
get the evidence you need with effective
discovery tools, getting facts into
evidence,demanding your rights, and forcing
the court to do what's right ... according
to law.
The anatomy of a lawsuit is no more
complicated than this. CAT. By knowing the
basics you strengthen your case.
Resolve conflicts peaceably, according to
the rules that control both judges and
lawyers in our courts.
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