Litigation Lawyers in Stewartville

"Civil procedure" refers to the wide variety of rules that regulate the process of civil litigation in Stewartville, 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.

Stewartville, Minnesota'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.

In Stewartville, Minnesota, civil litigation is usually extremely difficult. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that the rules of civil procedure can also be fairly intricate. After all, they govern everything from the first document filed by the plaintiff, to the last ruling issued by an appeals court.

Major Stewartville, Minnesota Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: Perhaps the most significant part of filing a lawsuit in Stewartville, Minnesota is the complaint. The complaint is a document filed with a Stewartville, Minnesota court that lays out the plaintiff's (the individual filing the suit) allegations against the defendant (the individual being sued), as well as the relief that the plaintiff is seeking from the court.

Answer: After the plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant has to act. While they have a few avenues at this stage of the game, most defendants elect to file an answer. The answer is the defendant's first direct response to the plaintiff's allegations. Occasionally, the answer contains a general denial, in which the defendant simply denies everything the plaintiff alleges. It might also contain a point-by-point addressing of every allegation the plaintiff makes, denying some, and admitting some.

Discovery: Once both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next procedure in civil litigation in Stewartville, Minnesota is discovery. Under the civil procedure rules of most jurisdictions in the U.S., each side of a lawsuit is obligated by law to disclose relevant information to the other side. These disclosures come in the form of depositions, the production of documents, and answers to written questions submitted by opposing counsel.

Trial: Although the trial is arguably the most dramatic element of civil procedure in Stewartville, Minnesota, it is really very rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in Stewartville is designed to encourage early settlement of cases, or dismissal of cases that don't have any legal or factual merit. Nonetheless, 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 Stewartville, Minnesota Lawyer Help?

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

The rules of civil procedure in Stewartville, Minnesota are not always simple or intuitive. With that in mind, it's very important to have a seasoned attorney on your side, to help you through the process.