Litigation Lawyers in Youngsville

"Civil procedure" refers to the wide variety of rules that govern the process of civil litigation in Youngsville, Louisiana. It does not deal with the substantive rights that the litigation system is meant to protect, just the process by which it protects them.

Like all laws, the rules of civil procedure in Youngsville, Louisiana reflect particular values that society, through its elected representatives, wants to encourage. So, the rules of civil procedure have the stated goal of ensuring that the justice system is fair, cost effective, efficient, and accessible to everyone who has a legitimate legal grievance.

Youngsville, Louisiana's civil procedure rules can get pretty convoluted, 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 Youngsville, Louisiana Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The first, and perhaps most important, part of filing a lawsuit in Youngsville, Louisiana is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Youngsville, 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). Normally, but not always, the end of the complaint will contain a "prayer for relief." The prayer for relief is simply 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 circumstances 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 proven, it would negate, or mitigate, his liability to the plaintiff.

Discovery: Once the complaint and answer have been filed in a Youngsville, Louisiana court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the process in which both sides of the lawsuit are required to disclose required evidence to one another. The lawyers for each side can submit written questions, which the other party is required to answer under oath, unless the information is privileged. Each side can also request any relevant documents, physical evidence, and can conduct depositions of witnesses and parties to the lawsuit.

Trial: It's quite rare for lawsuits in Youngsville, Louisiana to go to trial. Youngsville's civil procedure rules really discourage trials, and rather have designed the system so that it's almost always more cost-effective to settle out of court. However, if this is not possible, the matter will go to trial, where a judge and/or jury will determine the factual questions, and then award the appropriate relief (if any) to the prevailing party.

How Can a Youngsville, Louisiana Lawyer Help?

If you are dealing with a lawsuit in Youngsville, Louisiana, it's almost certain that you will have to deal with issues concerning civil procedure.

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