Litigation Lawyers in La Grange

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

In La Grange, Kentucky, civil litigation is frequently 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 La Grange, Kentucky Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in La Grange, Kentucky is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in La Grange, 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 usually the first document that the defendant files, and it is meant to serve as a direct response to the plaintiff's complaint. It usually 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 La Grange, Kentucky were written with the purpose of, among other things, preventing surprises. For that reason, everyone involved 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: It is actually quite rare for civil lawsuits in La Grange, Kentucky to go to trial, since the rules of civil procedure in La Grange 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 La Grange, Kentucky Lawyer Help?

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

It should go without saying that you should have a La Grange, Kentucky attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're involved in a lawsuit.