litigation process

pleadings

formal documents that start litigation

complaint—filed by plaintiff stating the claim and relief

summons—official notice served on defendant

answer—defendants response, admit/deny, raising defenses

counterclaim—defendants own claim about the plaintiff

motions

requests to ask the courts to rule on something

motion to dismiss

complaint fails to state a valid claim or cause of action

motion for summary judgement

no disagreement of facts, so no trial is needed

discovery

pretrial process where parties exchange info

depositions

interragatories

requests for production

requests for admission

trial

jury selection

opening statements

presentation of evidence/witnesses

closing witnesses

closing arguments

jury instructions and verdict

judgement

courts final decision

Alternative Dispute Resolution

negotiation

mediation

arbitration

negotitation

parties communicate directly tor each agreement; non-binding

mediation

a non-adjudacative process which aids in parties volitioinally agreeing to a resolution

less costly than arbitration

discussion, problem solving based, different types:

1. trasnformative

2. facilitative

3. evaluative

arbitration

private adjudacative process, or court connected

adjudacative: a third-party neutral makes a decision

—quicker, less expensive, equity-based, not as a beholdant to factual aspects, a lot like private litigation

decision are binding

process of appealing to SCOTUS

writ of certioriari

review typically constitutional cases, and cases of split citizenship/ split circuit

transformative mediation

focused on getting the parties to a point where they can communicate with each other

popular for family disputes

facilitative

uses mediator to help parties come to an agreement

evaluative

mediator uses their professional experience to assess how successful a party will be with their claim