Litigation Lawyers in Hunterdon County

In Hunterdon County, New Jersey, "civil procedure" is a broad term that refers to all of the laws that regulate the process of civil litigation. Procedural law (such as civil procedure) is distinguished from substantive law, which regulates the rights and obligations that the civil justice system is designed to safeguard.

Like all laws, the rules of civil procedure in Hunterdon County, New Jersey reflect specific values that society, through its elected representatives, wants to advocate. 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.

Hunterdon County, New Jersey's civil procedure rules can get pretty confusing, however. They regulate every aspect of a civil action, from the filing of the complaint, to discovery, and all the way through trial and appeals.

Major Hunterdon County, New Jersey Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Hunterdon County, New Jersey is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Hunterdon County, New Jersey 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: 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 the complaint and answer have been filed in a Hunterdon County, New Jersey court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the procedure in which both sides of the lawsuit are obligated to disclose obligated 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 Hunterdon County, New Jersey to go to trial. Hunterdon County'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 Hunterdon County, New Jersey Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Hunterdon County, New Jersey whether as the plaintiff or defendant, you will have to interact with your jurisdiction's civil procedure rules.

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