Litigation Lawyers in Rancho Cucamonga

In Rancho Cucamonga, California, "civil procedure" refers to the various processes and procedures that must be followed when conducting a civil lawsuit.

The civil procedure rules in Rancho Cucamonga, California are designed around a few simple goals for the civil litigation system: efficiency, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and, most notably, fairness.

In Rancho Cucamonga, California, civil litigation is frequently extremely perplexing. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that the rules of civil procedure can also be fairly perplexing. After all, they govern everything from the first document filed by the plaintiff, to the last ruling issued by an appeals court.

Major Rancho Cucamonga, California Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Rancho Cucamonga, California is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Rancho Cucamonga, California that's responsible for handling civil trials. It lists everything that the plaintiff (the person who is suing) alleges against the defendant (the person the plaintiff is suing). Usually, but not always, the end of the complaint will contain a "prayer for relief." The prayer for relief is just a statement of what the plaintiff is asking the court to do to remedy the harm that the defendant allegedly caused.

Answer: The answer is usually the first document that the defendant files, and it is meant to serve as a direct response to the plaintiff's complaint. It usually denies all of the plaintiff's major allegations. It might also lay out affirmative defenses. An "affirmative defense" is a set of reasons that negate the defendant's liability even if their conduct would ordinarily be unlawful. For example, in a lawsuit for battery, a defendant might admit that he struck the plaintiff, but claim that he acted in self-defense. If that can be shown, it would negate, or mitigate, his liability to the plaintiff.

Discovery: Once the complaint and answer have been filed in a Rancho Cucamonga, California court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the procedure in which both sides of the lawsuit are obligated to disclose obligated evidence to one another. The lawyers for each side can submit written questions, which the other party is required to answer under oath, unless the information is privileged. Each side can also request any relevant documents, physical evidence, and can conduct depositions of witnesses and parties to the lawsuit.

Trial: It's quite rare for lawsuits in Rancho Cucamonga, California to go to trial. Rancho Cucamonga's civil procedure rules actually discourage trials, and instead have designed the system so that it's almost always more cost-effective to settle out of court. Nonetheless, if this is not possible, the matter will go to trial, where a judge and/or jury will decide the factual questions, and then award the appropriate relief (if any) to the prevailing party.

How Can a Rancho Cucamonga, California Lawyer Help?

If you are dealing with a lawsuit in Rancho Cucamonga, California, it's almost given that you will have to deal with issues regarding civil procedure.

It should go without saying that you should have a Rancho Cucamonga, California attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're involved in a lawsuit.