Litigation Lawyers in Marion County

"Civil procedure" refers to the wide variety of rules that regulate the process of civil litigation in Marion County, Indiana. It does not deal with the substantive rights that the litigation system is meant to safeguard, just the process by which it protects them.

The rules of civil procedure in Marion County, Indiana are designed to make the process of civil litigation as efficient, low-cost, simple, and fair as possible.

Civil litigation in Marion County, Indiana is almost never a simple process. So, the rules controlling this process can't always be simple, either. Remember, civil procedure governs every single step of the civil litigation process, which can drag on for years.

Major Marion County, Indiana Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Marion County, Indiana is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Marion County, Indiana 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). Normally, 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 normally the first document that the defendant files, and it is meant to serve as a direct response to the plaintiff's complaint. It normally 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: The civil procedure rules in Marion County, Indiana were written with the purpose of, among other things, preventing surprises. For that reason, everyone immersed 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 procedure, during which the attorneys for both sides are obligated to disclose (with some exemptions) all information relevant to the trial which they have in their possession. These disclosures come in several 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: Although the trial is arguably the most dramatic element of civil procedure in Marion County, Indiana, it is really very rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in Marion County is designed to encourage early settlement of cases, or dismissal of cases that don't have any legal or factual merit. Nonetheless, in the rare cases when the case is not dismissed, and the parties can't reach a settlement, the matter will go to trial. A trial is the most visible aspect of civil litigation, and it is the stage when all of the legal and factual questions raised by both parties are resolved by a judge and jury, respectively.

How Can a Marion County, Indiana Lawyer Help?

If you are facing a legal issue of any sort in Marion County, Indiana, you are going to face civil procedure issues.

In Marion County, Indiana, procedural pitfalls can derail an otherwise-valid case. They can also be some of the most obtuse and convoluted issues in the whole case. Thus, you should not go into something like this without the counsel of an attorney.