Litigation Lawyers in San Gabriel

In San Gabriel, California, "civil procedure" refers to the varied processes and procedures that must be followed when conducting a civil lawsuit.

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

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

Major San Gabriel, California Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The first, and perhaps most important, part of filing a lawsuit in San Gabriel, California is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in San Gabriel, 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). Typically, but not always, the end of the complaint will contain a "prayer for relief." The prayer for relief is simply a statement of what the plaintiff is asking the court to do to remedy the harm that the defendant allegedly caused.

Answer: After the plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant has to act. While they have a few options at this stage of the game, most defendants elect to file an answer. The answer is the defendant's first direct response to the plaintiff's allegations. Sometimes, the answer contains a general denial, in which the defendant simply denies everything the plaintiff alleges. It might also contain a point-by-point addressing of every allegation the plaintiff makes, denying some, and admitting some.

Discovery: Once the complaint and answer have been filed in a San Gabriel, California court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the process in which both sides of the lawsuit are required to disclose required 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 San Gabriel, California to go to trial. San Gabriel's civil procedure rules truly discourage trials, and alternatively have designed the system so that it's almost always more cost-effective to settle out of court. However, if this is not possible, the matter will go to trial, where a judge and/or jury will determine the factual questions, and then award the appropriate relief (if any) to the prevailing party.

How Can a San Gabriel, California Lawyer Help?

If you are dealing with a lawsuit in San Gabriel, California, it's almost certain that you will have to deal with issues concerning civil procedure.

Civil Procedure in San Gabriel, California can be pretty intricate. It's always a good idea to have a lawyer who can advise you on how best to deal with these civil procedure issues.