Litigation Lawyers in Roeland Park

"Civil procedure" refers to the wide variety of rules that regulate the process of civil litigation in Roeland Park, Kansas. 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 civil procedure rules in Roeland Park, Kansas are designed around a few simple goals for the civil litigation system: efficiency, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and, most notably, fairness.

Roeland Park, Kansas's civil procedure rules can get pretty difficult, however. They control every aspect of a civil action, from the filing of the complaint, to discovery, and all the way through trial and appeals.

Major Roeland Park, Kansas Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The complaint is probably the most important document that the plaintiff will file in a Roeland Park, Kansas lawsuit, and it is normally the first. The complaint contains all of the plaintiff's allegations against the defendant, as well as the relief that the plaintiff is asking the court to provide. Thus, it can frame the tone, as well as the legal and factual issues, that will dominate the rest of the case.

Answer: After the plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant has to act. While they have a few avenues 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. Occasionally, 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: After the complaint has been filed in the Roeland Park, Kansas court of competent jurisdiction, the next important phase is the discovery process. In a civil lawsuit, there are not supposed to be any surprises (so the dramatic moments you see in TV trials are largely fiction). This predictability largely comes from the discovery process. Each side of the lawsuit has to disclose information relevant to the lawsuit to the other. This information can be received by sending the other side written questions, which must be answered under oath, demanding access to documents, and deposing witnesses.

Trial: It is really quite rare for civil lawsuits in Roeland Park, Kansas to go to trial, since the rules of civil procedure in Roeland Park highly encourage early resolution to cases by dismissal of lawsuits that have no merit, and negotiated settlement of those that do. Nonetheless, when neither of those things happen, the case goes to trial. This is when a judge and jury determine the questions of law and fact, respectively, raised in the case. The jury then issues a verdict, based on the evidence presented to them.

How Can a Roeland Park, Kansas Lawyer Help?

If you're suing anyone, or are being sued, in Roeland Park, Kansas, dealing with issues of civil procedure is going to be a fact of life for quite some time.

The rules of civil procedure in Roeland Park, Kansas are not always simple or intuitive. With that in mind, it's very important to have a seasoned attorney on your side, to help you through the process.