civil procedure

file a complaint

served with summons, 1st step of lawsuit

nature of action/issue

parties: adresses parties, establishes jurisdiction

factual allegations

causes of actions/counts

response

defendants response to complaint, includes counter-claim

responses paragraph by paragraph to complaint

some have counter claims some do not

reply

from plaintiff, response to answer

motions—used strategically to make things more difficult for the other party

discovery

process through which each side gathers the evdience it needs to present at trial

*a lot of the evidence neffed comes from the opposition so you need to specifcally request that they release such facts

interragatories

factual questions sent from one side to the other to be answered as much as possible

document production

request for documents or contracts

deposition

testimony under oath outside of court

pre trial conference

receive trial date with judge, type of trial, agreement

jury selection—interviewing/questioning possible jurers

trial

very rare a case goes all the way to trial

typically negotiation or mediation occurs

many trials settle