Litigation Lawyers in Crookston

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

Crookston, Minnesota's government strives to make the civil justice system fair, efficient, and accessible. The rules of civil procedure are designed to advocate those goals, to the greatest extent possible.

Civil litigation, however, is inherently complicated. So, there is no getting around the fact that the civil procedure rules in Crookston, Minnesota are also going to be somewhat confusing and obtuse (or at least parts of them are). Remember, these rules govern every single thing that happens in a civil lawsuit, from the first complaint, to the last appeal.

Major Crookston, Minnesota Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Crookston, Minnesota is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Crookston, Minnesota 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: The answer is a document filed by the defendant, in response to a complaint. The answer typically contains a few things: normally, it denies most of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If it does not deny the factual assertions in the complaint, it will typically 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: After the complaint has been filed in the Crookston, Minnesota court of competent jurisdiction, the next important phase is the discovery process. In a civil lawsuit, there are not supposed to be any surprises (so the dramatic moments you see in TV trials are largely fiction). This predictability largely comes from the discovery process. Each side of the lawsuit has to disclose information relevant to the lawsuit to the other. This information can be acquired by sending the other side written questions, which must be answered under oath, demanding access to documents, and deposing witnesses.

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

How Can a Crookston, Minnesota Lawyer Help?

If you're suing anyone, or are being sued, in Crookston, Minnesota, dealing with issues of civil procedure is going to be a fact of life for quite some time.

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