Litigation Lawyers in Highland Heights

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

In Highland Heights, Kentucky, civil litigation is usually 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 Highland Heights, Kentucky Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Highland Heights, Kentucky is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Highland Heights, Kentucky 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 a document filed by the defendant, in response to a complaint. The answer usually contains a few things: typically, it denies most of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If it does not deny the factual assertions in the complaint, it will usually 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: Once both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next procedure in civil litigation in Highland Heights, Kentucky is discovery. Under the civil procedure rules of most jurisdictions in the U.S., each side of a lawsuit is obligated by law to disclose relevant information to the other side. These disclosures come in the form of depositions, the production of documents, and answers to written questions submitted by opposing counsel.

Trial: it's actually very uncommon for lawsuits to go trial in Highland Heights, Kentucky, because the rules of civil procedure in Highland Heights, and nearly everywhere else, encourage speedy resolution of legal disputes, before they ever see the inside of a courtroom. This is largely done by judges dismissing cases that clearly have no merit, or the parties settling out of court. Nonetheless, when neither of these things is possible, both sides of the lawsuit will have to hash it out in a trial, which can be the most stressful and expensive step in the process. It involves both sides of the case presenting their evidence and arguments to a jury and judge, and letting them determine the issues.

How Can a Highland Heights, Kentucky Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Highland Heights, Kentucky whether as the plaintiff or defendant, you will have to interact with your jurisdiction's civil procedure rules.

In Highland Heights, Kentucky, procedural issues can derail an otherwise-valid case. They can also be some of the most obtuse and convoluted issues in the whole case. Therefore, you should not go into something like this without the counsel of an attorney.