Litigation Lawyers in Lafayette Parish

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

Civil litigation in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana 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 Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana 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 just a statement of what the plaintiff is asking the court to do to remedy the harm that the defendant allegedly caused.

Answer: Once the complaint is filed, the ball is in the defendant's court, so to speak. In the answer, the defendant has an chance to respond to all of the factual allegations made by the plaintiff, typically by denying them. The defendant might also raise affirmative defenses, which could keep the defendant from being held liable. For instance, if the defendant is accused of battery, and he did, in fact, batter the plaintiff, he might admit to that fact, but claim that the plaintiff was the aggressor, and he acted purely in self-defense. If he can establish that he acted in self-defense, he likely will not be held liable.

Discovery: The civil procedure rules in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana were written with the purpose of, among other things, preventing 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 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 truly quite rare for civil lawsuits in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana to go to trial, since the rules of civil procedure in Lafayette Parish 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 Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Lawyer Help?

If you are dealing with a lawsuit in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, it's almost given that you will have to deal with issues regarding civil procedure.

It should go without saying that you should have a Lafayette Parish, Louisiana attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're engaged in a lawsuit.