Litigation Lawyers in Lodi

If you are in Lodi, New Jersey and believe that some type of legal wrong has been committed against you, and decide that seeking legal redress will be worth the time and expense involved, you may wish to file a lawsuit.

If you think that filing a lawsuit is a good option in seeking redress, you should not rush into this decision. A lawsuit is a time-consuming and expensive process. You should not make a final decision without speaking to a Lodi, New Jersey attorney.

Your Lodi, New Jersey civil litigation attorney will be able to advise you on whether or not you have a legitimate case, and, if so, your best options on how to proceed. The attorney will also discuss with you the fees for their services, and whether he or she can represent you on a contingency basis.

Steps for Filing a Lawsuit in Lodi, New Jersey

Consultation with your attorney: Before you file a lawsuit in a Lodi, New Jersey court, you need to meet and confer with a local lawyer. You lawyer in Lodi, New Jersey can advise you on whether or not your lawsuit has merit, and how likely it is to succeed.

Drafting The Complaint: Once you decide that pursuing a lawsuit in Lodi, New Jersey civil court is worth your time and effort, you need to file a complaint. The complaint can set the tone, and frame the issues, for the rest of the litigation process, which can drag on for months, or even years (and decades, in some cases). This is because the complaint lays out all the allegations against the defendant. It also usually asks the court for specific relief, should it rule in the plaintiff's favor.

Serving The Defendant: After you draft your complaint, and file it with the court, you have to let the defendant know that they're being sued. The law of Lodi, New Jersey requires that the defendant be given advance notice of the lawsuit as a matter of basic fairness: if you were being sued, you'd want to be given time to find a lawyer and prepare your defense strategy, right? So, with that in mind, the law prefers that defendants be served personally, generally through the use of a paid process server.

Await The Response: The defendant has a certain amount of time to respond to your lawsuit, once they confirm that they've been served in Lodi, New Jersey. The defendant will probably respond with an answer to your complaint. An answer is a document in which the defendant admits or denies the specific factual allegations made by the plaintiff. Typically, the defendant will admit the allegations that are not seriously in dispute (for example, if the lawsuit concerns a car accident, they'll probably admit that an accident did, in fact, take place), but deny the more serious allegations (they'll probably deny that they were responsible for the accident). If the defendant fails to respond within a set period of time, they are in "default," and basically lose the case automatically.

How Can A Lodi, New Jersey Tort Lawyer Help?

As you can see, it can be a complicated and difficult process to file a lawsuit in Lodi, New Jersey, and it is, in fact, much more complicated than the basic outline you just read.

Therefore, if you want to file a lawsuit against someone in Lodi, New Jersey, you should not hesitate to speak with an attorney, who will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed.