Lawsuit

==Procedure==
The following is a generalized description of how a lawsuit may proceed in a common law jurisdiction:

===Pleading===
{{Main|Pleading}}

A lawsuit begins when a complaint or petition, known as a pleading,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=s1eAEN1PR1BT04xNmrDrcw==|title=Pleading: AxonHCS|access-date=December 14, 2018|publisher=New York State Unified Court System}}</ref> is filed with the court. A complaint should explicitly state that one or more plaintiffs seek(s) damages or [[Equity (law)|equitable relief]] from one or more stated defendants, and also should state the relevant factual allegations supporting the legal claims brought by the plaintiffs. As the initial pleading, a [http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/pleadings.html/ complaint] is the most important step in a civil case because a complaint sets the factual and legal foundation for the entirety of a case. While complaints and other pleadings may ordinarily be amended by a motion with the court, the complaint sets the framework for the entire case and the claims that will be asserted throughout the entire lawsuit.

It is likewise important that the plaintiff select the proper venue with the proper jurisdiction to bring the lawsuit. The clerk of a court signs or stamps the court seal upon a [[summons]] or citation, which is then [[Service of process|served]] by the plaintiff upon the defendant, together with a copy of the complaint. This service notifies the defendants that they are being sued and that they are limited in the amount of time to reply. The service provides a copy of the complaint in order to notify the defendants of the nature of the claims. Once the defendants are served with the summons and complaint, they are subject to a time limit to file an [[Answer (law)|answer]] stating their defenses to the plaintiff's claims, which includes any challenges to the court's jurisdiction, and any counterclaims they wish to assert against the plaintiff.

In a handful of jurisdictions (notably, the [[U.S. state]] of [[New York (state)|New York]]) a lawsuit begins when one or more plaintiffs properly serve a summons and complaint upon the defendants. In such jurisdictions, nothing must be filed with the court until a dispute develops requiring actual judicial intervention.

If the defendant chooses to file an answer within the time permitted, the answer must address each of the plaintiffs' allegations. The defendant has three choices to make, which include either admitting to the allegation, denying it, or pleading a lack of sufficient information to admit or deny the allegation. Some jurisdictions, like California and Florida, still authorize general denials of each and every allegation in the complaint. At the time the defendant files an answer, the defendant also raises all "affirmative" defenses. The defendant may also assert counterclaims for damages or equitable relief against the plaintiff. For example, in the case of "compulsory counterclaims," the defendant must assert some form of counterclaim or risk having the counterclaim barred in any subsequent proceeding. In the case of making a counterclaim, the defendant is making a motion directed towards the plaintiff claiming that he/she was injured in some way or would like to sue the plaintiff. The plaintiff in this example would then receive some amount of time to make a reply to this counterclaim. The defendant may also file a "[[third party complaint]]", which is the defendant's privilege to join another party or parties in the action with the belief that those parties may be liable for some or all of the plaintiff's claimed damages. An answer from the defendant in response to the claims made against him/her, can also include additional facts or a so-called "excuse" for the plead. Filing an answer "joins the cause" and moves the case into the pre-trial phase.

Instead of filing an answer within the time specified in the summons, the defendant can choose to dispute the validity of the complaint by filing a [[demurrer]] (in the handful of jurisdictions where that is still allowed) or one or more "pre-answer motions," such as a motion to dismiss. It is important that the motion be filed within the time period specified in the summons for an answer. If all of the above motions are denied by the trial court, and the defendant loses on all appeals from such denials (if that option is available), and finally the defendant ''must'' file an answer.

Usually the [[pleading]]s are drafted by a [[lawyer]], but in many courts persons can file papers and represent themselves, which is called appearing ''[[pro se]]''. Many courts have a [[pro se clerk|''pro se'' clerk]] to assist people without lawyers.

===Pretrial discovery===
{{Main|Discovery (law)}}

A pretrial discovery can be defined as "the formal process of exchanging information between the parties about the witnesses and evidence they'll present at trial" and allows for the evidence of the trial to be presented to the parties before the initial trial begins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/discovery.html/|title=How Courts Work: Steps in a Trial – Discovery|access-date=June 23, 2015|publisher=[[American Bar Association]]}}</ref> The early stages of the lawsuit may involve initial disclosures of evidence by each party and [[discovery (law)|discovery]], which is the structured exchange of [[evidence (law)|evidence]] and [[deposition (law)|statement]]s between the parties. Discovery is meant to eliminate surprises, clarify what the lawsuit is about, and also to make the parties decide if they should settle or drop [[Frivolous litigation|frivolous claims]] or defenses. At this point the parties may also engage in pretrial motions to exclude or include particular legal or factual issues before trial.

There is also the ability of one to make an under oath statement during the pretrial, also known as a deposition. The deposition can be used in the trial or just in the pretrial, but this allows for both parties to be aware of the arguments or claims that are going to be made by the other party in the trial. It is notable that the depositions can be written or oral.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/glossary/glossary_d.html#deposition|title=Glossary D: Deposition|publisher=American Bar Association|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624013431/http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/glossary/glossary_d.html|archive-date=24 June 2015|access-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref>

At the close of discovery, the parties may either pick a [[jury]] and then have a [[jury trial|trial by jury]] or the case may proceed as a bench trial. A bench trial is only heard by the judge if the parties waive a jury trial or if the right to a jury trial is not guaranteed for their particular claim (such as those under [[Equity (law)|equity]] in the U.S.) or for any lawsuits within their jurisdiction.

===Resolution===
{{Main|Trial|Judgment (law)|Settlement (litigation)}}

Usually, lawsuits end in a settlement, with an empirical analysis finding that less than 2% of cases end with a trial.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Barkai|first1=John|last2=Kent|first2=Elizabeth|date=2014-01-01|title=Let's Stop Spreading Rumors About Settlement and Litigation: A Comparative Study of Settlement and Litigation in Hawaii Courts|ssrn=2398550|location=Rochester, NY|journal=Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution|publisher=Social Science Research Network}}</ref> It is sometimes said that 95% of cases end in settlement; few jurisdictions report settlements, but empirical analysis suggests that the settlement rate varies by type of lawsuit, with torts settling around 90% of the time and overall civil cases settling 50% of the time; other cases end due to [[default judgment]], lack of a valid claim, and other reasons.<ref name=":0" />

At trial, each person presents witnesses and the evidence collected is recorded. After this occurs, the judge or jury renders their decision. Generally speaking, the plaintiff has the [[Legal burden of proof|burden of proof]] in making his claims, however, the defendant may have the burden of proof on other issues, such as [[affirmative defense]]s. The attorneys are held responsible in devising a [[trial strategy]] that ensures they meet the necessary elements of their case or (when the opposing party has the burden of proof) to ensure the opponent will not be able to meet his or her burden.

There are numerous motions that either party can file throughout the lawsuit to terminate it "prematurely"—before submission to the judge or jury for final consideration. These motions attempt to persuade the judge, through legal argument and sometimes accompanying evidence, that there is no reasonable way that the other party could legally win and therefore there is no sense in continuing with the trial. Motions for [[summary judgment]], for example, can usually be brought before, after, or during the actual presentation of the case. Motions can also be brought after the close of a trial to undo a jury verdict contrary to law or against the weight of the evidence, or to convince the judge to change the decision or grant a new trial.

Also, at any time during this process from the filing of the complaint to the final judgment, the plaintiff may withdraw the complaint and end the whole matter, or the defendant may agree to a settlement. If the case settles, the parties might choose to enter into a stipulated judgment with the settlement agreement attached, or the plaintiff may simply file a [[voluntary dismissal]], so that the settlement agreement is never entered into the court record.

The decisions that the jury makes are not put into effect until the judge makes a judgment, which is the approval to have this trial information be filed in public records. In a civil case, the judge is allowed at this time to make changes to the verdict that the jury came up with by either adding on or reducing the punishment. In criminal cases the situation is a little different, because in this case the judge does not have the authority to change the jury decision.

===Appeal===
{{Main|Appeal}}
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
After a final decision has been made, either party or both may [[appeal]] from the judgment if they believe there had been a procedural error made by the trial court. It is not necessarily an automatic appeal after every judgment has been made, however, if there is a legal basis for the appeal, then one has the right to do so. The prevailing party may appeal, for example, if they wanted a larger award than was granted. The [[appellate court]] (which may be structured as an intermediate appellate court) and/or a higher court then affirms the judgment, declines to hear it (which effectively affirms it), reverses—or vacates and remands. This process would then involve sending the lawsuit back to the lower trial court to address an unresolved issue, or possibly request for a whole new trial. Some lawsuits go up and down the appeals ladder repeatedly before final resolution.

The appeal is a review for errors rather than a new trial, so the appellate court will defer to the discretion of the original trial court if an error is not clear. The initial step in making an appeal consists of the petitioner filing a notice of appeal and then sending in a brief, a written document stating reason for appeal, to the court. Decisions of the court can be made immediately after just reading the written brief, or there can also be oral arguments made by both parties involved in the appeal. The appellate court then makes the decision about what errors were made when the law was looked at more closely in the lower court. There were no errors made, the case would then end, but if the decision was reversed, the appellate court would then send the case back down to the lower court level. There, a new trial will be held and new information taken into account.

Some jurisdictions, notably the United States, but prevalent in many other countries, prevent parties from relitigating the facts on appeal, due to a history of unscrupulous lawyers deliberately reserving such issues in order to ambush each other in the appellate courts (the "invited error" problem). The idea is that it is more efficient to force all parties to fully litigate all relevant issues of fact before the trial court. Thus, a party who does not raise an issue of fact at the trial court level generally cannot raise it on appeal.

When the lawsuit is finally resolved, or the allotted time to appeal has expired, the matter is ''[[res judicata]]'', meaning the plaintiff may not bring another action based on the same claim again. In addition, other parties who later attempt to re-litigate a matter already ruled on in a previous lawsuit will be ''[[Estoppel|estopped]]'' from doing so.

===Enforcement===
When a final judgment is entered, the plaintiff is usually barred under the doctrine of ''[[res judicata]]'' from relitigating any of the issues, even under different legal theories. Judgments are typically a monetary award. If the defendant fails to pay, the court has various powers to seize any of the defendant's assets located within its jurisdiction, such as:

* [[Writ of execution]]
* Bank account [[garnishment]]
* [[Lien]]s
* [[Wage garnishment]]

If all assets are located elsewhere, the plaintiff must file another suit in the appropriate court to seek enforcement of the other court's previous judgment. This can be a difficult task when crossing from a court in one state or nation to another, however, courts tend to grant each other respect when there is not a clear legal rule to the contrary. A defendant who has no assets in ''any'' jurisdiction is said to be "judgment-proof."<ref name="Dionne000">{{cite book | title=Foundations of Insurance Economics: Readings in Economics and Finance | first=Georges | last=Dionne | publisher=Springer | year=1992 | isbn=0-7923-9204-3}}</ref> The term is generally a colloquialism to describe an impecunious defendant.

Indigent judgment-proof defendants are no longer imprisoned; debtor's prisons have been outlawed by statute, constitutional amendment, or international human rights treaties in the vast majority of common law jurisdictions.