Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Written By Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
ContributorAdam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Updated: Mar 15, 2023, 3:01am
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The legal system provides you with the opportunity to seek a remedy if someone has wronged you. You can pursue claims to address a wide variety of legal issues ranging from car accident injuries to medical malpractice to breach of contract and more.
In order to work within this system, however, you need to know how to file a lawsuit. This guide explains the steps in the process so you know what to expect when you make your claim.
Determining how to file a lawsuit is complicated as there are many steps you need to take. This guide explains what is involved in going through the process.
If you are considering filing a lawsuit, your first step should almost always be to hire an experienced attorney.
There are many technical legal rules that you need to follow and it can be difficult to complete the necessary steps without specialized knowledge. If you file with the wrong court or use the wrong paperwork or fail to file on time, you could jeopardize your entire case.
An experienced attorney knows the ins and outs of the civil justice system. Your lawyer helps you through every stage of the entire legal proceedings so you maximize the chances of settling your case quickly outside of court or winning the lawsuit you file.
You want to make sure your attorney has experience handling similar claims and has courtroom experience if you expect your case to go to trial rather than to settle outside of court. Once you have interviewed and hired an attorney, your lawyer will guide you through each of the other steps necessary to file a lawsuit.
You are only allowed to sue if you have legal capacity. You must be at least 18 years old and mentally sound.
If you are under the age of 18 and you believe you have a legal claim, you may need an adult guardian or representative to help you sue unless you want to wait until you reach the age of majority.
You can only sue if you have standing.
Although the definition of standing can vary, it typically means that you were directly harmed in some way by the defendant you are making a claim against. There must be legal grounds for your claim, which means your rights were violated in some way. And you must have been damaged in a way you can pursue a remedy for.
The defendant is the person (or company, government agency or other entity) whom you are making a claim against. In some cases, there may be multiple defendants you can sue. For example, if you are suing for medical malpractice, you may be able to sue the doctor and the hospital.
The more defendants you identify, the greater the likelihood that enough money will be available to fully compensate you.
Choosing the right court is one of the most crucial parts of determining how to file a lawsuit. That’s because a court must have jurisdiction over the person or entity you are suing (personal jurisdiction), and must have jurisdiction over the type of case you are pursuing (subject matter jurisdiction).
In most situations, you file a lawsuit in the state court where you or the defendant live or do business or in the location where the claim arose, such as the state where an accident happened. The defendant must have sufficient connections to the state to be subject to a court’s rulings.
In some cases, you may have to sue in a particular location. For example, if you are suing based on a breach of contract, the contract may specify that all disputes have to be resolved in a specific state court.
You may also sue in a federal court, but only in limited circumstances such as when the case arises out of federal laws or if you are suing a defendant of a different state or country and are seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
If you can sue in multiple courts, you should make a strategic choice about which legal rules of procedure are most advantageous to you. An experienced attorney helps you to understand this process.
There is a time deadline for pursuing civil claims. This can vary depending on the state where you live and the laws under which your case arises.
For example, if you are filing a lawsuit for a personal injury, most states set a deadline of between two and four years to bring your claim.
Afteryou have chosen the court and made sure you meet all the basic requirements, such as standing to sue and a case that is within the statute of limitations, you can then initiate the process of filing your lawsuit. There are a variety of legal documents you may need to submit including:
Many states make standard forms available online for common types of claims. But, deciding exactly which documents to file and how to complete these forms can be very complicated. At this phase, you should almost always hire a lawyer if you have not already done so.
The documents must be served on the defendant, which means they must be handed them or receive them in another way designated by the court rules.
Once you have filed a lawsuit, the defendant is given a chance to answer your complaint and to submit counterclaims.
Pre-trial conferences are scheduled to address key issues in your case. The discovery period takes place during which evidence is exchanged. Your case is scheduled for a trial during which you present evidence and prove your case in order to prevail. The defendant is given a chance to raise defenses.
In many situations, claims are settled outside of court before you proceed to a full trial and a court verdict. In a settlement you and the defendant agree on an appropriate remedy. The defendant may offer you a lump sum of money, for example, in exchange for you waiving any further claims.
If you receive a settlement offer, you must decide whether to accept it or proceed with your lawsuit. Your attorney assists with this process and helps you through every phase of a court trial if you decide to let a judge or jury decide your fate
An attorney can guide you through the entire process of initiating a lawsuit and making a successful claim for damages.
Filing a lawsuit can be difficult. You need to make informed choices about where to sue, which defendants to name and which documents to file. An experienced attorney who has handled cases similar to yours can help you with the process of pursuing your case and can maximize the chances you will prevail in court.
Suing someone can be worth it if you have been wronged and need to recover compensation for your losses. You need to make sure you have enough evidence to win your case and that you have sustained enough damages that the compensation you receive will be worth the time, stress and costs involved in initiating a lawsuit. An experienced attorney can help you decide if suing is worth it and guide you through the process of figuring out how to file a lawsuit.
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ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has appeared on Forbes, CNN Underscored Money, Investopedia, Credit Karma, The Balance, USA Today, and Yahoo Finance, among others.
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