Litigation Lawyers in Okeechobee

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

Like all laws, the rules of civil procedure in Okeechobee, Florida reflect specific values that society, through its elected representatives, wants to advocate. So, the rules of civil procedure have the stated goal of ensuring that the justice system is fair, cost effective, efficient, and accessible to everyone who has a legitimate legal grievance.

Civil litigation, however, is inherently confusing. So, there is no getting around the fact that the civil procedure rules in Okeechobee, Florida are also going to be somewhat intricate and obtuse (or at least parts of them are). Remember, these rules govern every single thing that happens in a civil lawsuit, from the first complaint, to the last appeal.

Major Okeechobee, Florida Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The first, and perhaps most important, part of filing a lawsuit in Okeechobee, Florida is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Okeechobee, Florida 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: The answer is a document filed by the defendant, in response to a complaint. The answer typically contains a few things: normally, it denies most of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If it does not deny the factual assertions in the complaint, it will typically raise legal defenses, known as affirmative defenses, arguing that even if everything the plaintiff alleges is true, the defendant should not be held liable, because of extenuating circumstances.

Discovery: The civil procedure rules in Okeechobee, Florida were written with the purpose of, among other things, avoiding surprises. For that reason, everyone engaged in a lawsuit goes into trial with a pretty good idea of what evidence the other side has. This is largely because of the discovery process, during which the attorneys for both sides are required to disclose (with some exemptions) all information relevant to the trial which they have in their possession. These disclosures come in multiple forms, such as simply sending boxes of documents, deposing witnesses, or submitting written questions to the other side, which the recipient is obligated to answer under oath.

Trial: It's quite rare for lawsuits in Okeechobee, Florida to go to trial. Okeechobee'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 Okeechobee, Florida Lawyer Help?

If you are facing a legal issue of any kind in Okeechobee, Florida, you are going to confront civil procedure issues.

It should go without saying that you should have an Okeechobee, Florida attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost certain to face, if you're engaged in a lawsuit.