Litigation Lawyers in Garden City

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

Garden City, Michigan's government strives to make the civil justice system fair, efficient, and accessible. The rules of civil procedure are designed to encourage those goals, to the greatest extent possible.

Garden City, Michigan'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 Garden City, Michigan Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The first, and perhaps most important, part of filing a lawsuit in Garden City, Michigan is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Garden City, Michigan 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 Garden City, Michigan 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: Although the trial is arguably the most dramatic element of civil procedure in Garden City, Michigan, it is really extremely rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in Garden City is designed to encourage early settlement of cases, or dismissal of cases that don't have any legal or factual merit. However, in the rare cases when the case is not dismissed, and the parties can't reach a settlement, the matter will go to trial. A trial is the most visible aspect of civil litigation, and it is the stage when all of the legal and factual questions raised by both parties are resolved by a judge and jury, respectively.

How Can a Garden City, Michigan Lawyer Help?

If you're facing any considerable legal issue in Garden City, Michigan, you can be pretty much certain that you'll face at least a few procedural complications that can hold up the process.

Civil Procedure in Garden City, Michigan can be pretty convoluted. It's always a good idea to have a lawyer who can advise you on how best to deal with these civil procedure issues.