A civil lawsuit is a dispute between people, businesses, government entities, or other non-criminal participants. Those involved in a lawsuit are often referred to as “parties”. Consequences of a civil suit usually come in the form of financial awards or relief taken from one party and given to another – as opposed to a criminal case, which is brought by the government against a person and could potentially result in jail time.

There are three initial stages of a civil suit: pleadings, discovery, and trial. At any point up and through trial, the parties to a lawsuit can meet with each other and settle and the suit may be withdrawn. Parties often find that settlement is preferable to the effort and expense of trial, so many lawsuits end before ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. If a suit does go all the way to trial, both sides make an argument for their case to either a judge or a jury, then a decision, or verdict, is reached. Afterwards, the losing party has the option to appeal that verdict if they don’t think it’s fair. We’ll discuss all of these steps in depth below.

 Pleading

A lawsuit starts when one party (the “plaintiff”) decides to sue another (the “defendant”). This action is usually taken in response to a form of injury – physical, financial, or even emotional – suffered by the plaintiff because of the defendant. Regardless of the type of injury, the plaintiff officially begins the lawsuit by filing a complaint with the court and delivering a copy to the defendant, so they know that they’re being sued. The defendant then files an answer to the complaint.

 The complaint explains why the plaintiff is bringing the lawsuit. It tells the court about their injury and describes how the defendant is responsible for it. After the complaint has been filed, the defendant has a certain amount of time in which to file an answer to the complaint. This answer gives the defendant’s side of the story. At this point, the defendant can also file counter-claims against the plaintiff, alleging injuries of their own resulting from the plaintiff’s actions. If this happens, the defendant is also designated as a cross-complainant, while the plaintiff becomes a cross-defendant as well. The cross-defendant has the opportunity to reply to cross-complainant’s counter-claims.

Sometimes, instead of filing an answer or a reply, a defendant can ask the other party for clarifications or corrections to either the factual allegations (what happened) or legal theories (what the law should do about it) included in their complaint. They could also make a case for why the suit is not valid and ask the court to dismiss it, either completely or in part.

Once pleadings have been completed – from the initial complaint to the answer to cross-complaints or clarifications – the issues to be addressed by the court should be clearly defined and the suit ready to move on to discovery.

 Discovery

Discovery is the method by which parties collect information relevant to their case, both from each other and from parties who aren’t otherwise involved in the lawsuit. It is typically the lengthiest period of a suit – starting soon after pleadings have been filed and continuing until shortly before trial – and one of the most important. Discovery will often establish a timeline of events, provide evidence for facts, or show inconsistencies in a party’s claims. In short, discovery is the process of gathering all the raw materials out of which to build a strong case. Discovery can often last for months or even years before a case is ready to go to trial.

Fact Discovery

The information gathered during discovery can come in many forms. One party can ask the other ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions (“requests for admission”), as well as lists of questions requiring longform answers (“interrogatories”). Usually, there will be requests for copies of relevant documents or data on both sides, which can be delivered in either physical or digital form (“demands for production” or “inspections of records”). All of these types of discovery take the form of written documents or pre-existing files exchanged between parties.

Parties can also schedule recorded interviews, called depositions, under oath – meaning that the person being interviewed must be truthful, or else suffer serious legal consequences. Depositions can clarify a particular person’s perspective on the facts of the case, establish their credibility (or lack of it) as a witness, or show inconsistencies in the story being told by one side or the other. They can also be shown in court if a witness is unable to attend the trial in person. Depending on the type claims being made in the case, one party can request a physical examination of the other by a medical professional. Courts can also issue subpoenas, which compel a third party who might know important facts about the case come to testify in court.

Expert Discovery

Oftentimes, an accusation or defense will be better supported if its technical details can be explained or validated by a qualified third party. Consequently, parties to a suit can call expert witnesses – people who aren’t personally connected to a case, but possess specialized knowledge about claims being made within it. These experts are paid by one party to research the case and testify on their findings. Expert witnesses often work closely with attorneys and clients to establish facts and can be particularly helpful in accurately assessing damages.

Any party hiring an expert witness has the obligation to disclose information about that witness to the opposing party, after which the non-hiring party has limited time to request to depose the expert or receive a report on their findings.

Motions

In the lead-up to trial, parties can file motions with the court. Motions are requests for a judge to rule on, or decide, certain issues – written motions can be submitted and decided before the case goes to trial. Motions often seek to clarify aspects of the law as it relates to the case, establish or exclude certain facts at trial, or resolve procedural disputes between the parties. Some motions, like a motion for summary judgement, can preclude the need for a trial entirely – or effectively narrow its scope (the number of issues to be resolved) by deciding certain claims beforehand.

Trial

At trial, the plaintiff and the defendant finally have the chance to present their cases in front of a judge and, often, jury. Both sides take turns telling their side of the story, supporting it with evidence gathered during discovery and witness testimonies, and examining (or questioning) the opposing side’s evidence and witnesses. Civil trials typically last anywhere from a week to a month.

Before trial, both the plaintiff and the defendant provide a brief to the judge, which summarizes the arguments and evidence they plan to use at trial. A bench trial is argued in front of a judge alone, whereas a jury trial takes place in front of both a judge and a jury of randomly called citizens. For a jury trial, both sides are able to ask potential jurors questions in a process known as ‘voir dire’. They then agree on which jurors to select and the trial can begin. At trial, each party’s attorneys make an opening statement, where they tell the judge and the jury the story of the case from their client’s perspective. After that, each side introduces evidence, called exhibits, to the court and calls witnesses to come to court and testify under oath to support their arguments. After a witness for one side has been examined, the other side has the opportunity to question them as well – a practice known as cross-examination. The plaintiff and the defendant typically switch off presenting and responding to evidence and witnesses, with the plaintiff going first, followed by the defendant. Sometimes, the plaintiff will be able to present rebuttal evidence once the defendant has finished presenting.

Once all the evidence has been presented and witnesses have been examined, each side makes their final case to the judge and jury in closing arguments. The judge or jury then deliberates privately, reaches a verdict, and returns to courtroom to announce their verdict and award damages.

After the verdict is announced, the trial is over. But a party can still challenge the court’s decision based on a number of factors, including errors of law or the deliberators’ disregarding of law or evidence. This is done by filing a motion for judgement notwithstanding the verdict, which asks a judge to change the decision reached by the first deliberator. Alternatively, a motion for a new trial asks the court to disregard the first verdict and set a new trial.

Costs

The winning side of a lawsuit can file a motion to make the losing side pay for the costs and fees incurred throughout the legal process, but recoverable costs are typically defined beforehand by law or private agreement and don’t include attorneys’ fees. The winner usually cannot recover all of the money they have spent on a lawsuit.

 Appeals

If a party is dissatisfied with how their trial resolved, they can appeal to a higher court to for review. Parties present their arguments in briefs, which are then submitted to an appellate court along with a record of the evidence submitted in the trial court. An appellate court typically only reviews a case for legal error, only rarely considering factual evidence or a jury’s findings of fact. The appellate court’s decisions are called opinions. If the opinion finds no legal errors in the trial court proceedings, it will affirm the original verdict. However, if legal error is found, the appeals court can reverse the original verdict or order that a new trial be conducted.

Appeals are typically a lengthy process, often extending the trial process over a year beyond the conclusion of trial.

Alternatives to Litigation

Early and often over the course of a lawsuit, parties should consider alternative solutions. The process of preparing for and arguing a court trial is almost always drawn out and draining, both emotionally and physically. Willingness to pursue other paths to resolution are likely to save time, money, and energy for everybody involved.

Settlement

Settlement is when both parties in a dispute agree to a resolution without the involvement of a judge or jury. Every settlement is different, but oftentimes the defendant agrees to pay the plaintiff a sum of money without formally admitting any wrongdoing; in exchange the plaintiff agrees that the matter has been resolved and will not be raised again. Settlement can happen at any point during a lawsuit – even after it has gone to trial. Judges typically do not require parties to discuss settlement, but they provide many opportunities for them to do so with the assistance of the court.

Mediation

Parties can negotiate a settlement between themselves, but it’s often helpful to include a neutral third-party, called a mediator. Mediators are often former judges or attorneys who meet separately with each side to discuss their claims and determine the strength of their case. They then help both sides understand how those claims might be received in court and, consequently, how fair settlement terms might be reached. Mediation is an informal process; the mediator cannot force a resolution and either side can pull out at any point without consequences (other than the continuation of the suit).

Arbitration

Unlike mediation, arbitration is an adversarial process. Instead of both parties working together to reach a mutual decision, they instead both agree to honor the decision of an arbitrator. The parties then present evidence and arguments in front of the arbitrator, who decides a winner in the case. The process of arbitration is much shorter and less formal than trial, and decisions made in a binding arbitration typically cannot be appealed.