Civil Litigation Chapter 1

What are the three sources of law that need to be consulted in litigation matters?

statues, court cases, constitutions

statutes

laws enacted by state or federal legislatures that govern substantive and legal rights and principles, as well as procedural rules, are referred to as codes in some instances

court cases

decisions of the courts interpreting the law

constitutions

a set of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a political entity, determining how that entity is governed

different aspects of the court system

litigation begins with the filing of a complaint, parties have an identity(plaintiff and defendant), filing and servicing of a complaint, different types of courts(United States district court, Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court)

complaint

document filed by an aggrieved party to commence litigation

plaintiff

the aggrieved party

defendant

the party whom the complaint is filed against

United States District Court

the trial court of the federal court system, 89 of these are in the continental U.S., 94 total

Court of Appeals

next highest court in the federal system after the federal trial court, total number of these courts is 13, 11 are in the 50 states

United States Supreme Court

highest court in the federal system, hear appeals from the Court of Appeals, have the discretion to hear appeals from a state’s highest court if the decision in the state involves a constitutional issue

Civil Litigation

resolution between disputes of private parties through the court system

Overview of Civil Litigation Stages

Information Gathering, Pleading, Discovery and Motion Stage, Trial and Post-Trial Proceedings

Pleading

Discovery and Motion Stage

third stage, the parties will conduct formal factual investigation through written responses and oral testimony received from the other side

Trial and Post-Trial Proceedings

both during and after this event, there are a number of different motions that either side can make and these motions include requests for judgments if one side has failed to prove its case, or requests to the court to enter a different judgement if the jury’s verdict is not consistent with the evidenced produced at trial

Kinds of Remedies

Legal Remedy(Compensatory damages and punitive damages), equitable remedy, an injunction, declaratory relief

Remedies

when a party brings a civil action, the party must request some relief or remedy from the court

Legal Remedy

one of the types of remedy, most common type are money damages, either compensatory or punitive

Compensatory Damages

all those damages that “compensate” the injured party, including those that directly flow from the injury or breach

Punitive Damages

also referred to as exemplary damages, are meant to “punish” the wrongdoer for his or her conduct, such damages may be awarded in addition to the compensatory damages

Equitable Remedy

relief requested by plaintiff from the defendant that is usually designed to prevent some future harm

Injunction

used to stop certain conduct or actions

Declaratory Relief

used when a controversy arises over the rights and obligations of the parties and neither party has yet failed to live up to these obligations, the parties request a declaration from the court to settle the controversy so they may govern their future conduct accordingly

conflict of interest

when two or more parties with adverse interests are represented by the same counsel