Litigation Lawyers in Mercer County

If you are in Mercer County, 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 Mercer County, New Jersey attorney.

Your Mercer County, 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 Mercer County, New Jersey

Consultation with your attorney: You should always speak with a Mercer County, New Jersey lawyer who specializes in civil litigation before filing any type of lawsuit in a court in Mercer County, New Jersey. Your lawyer will have important information and advise, helping you decide whether or not your chances of success in the lawsuit make it worth your while to proceed.

Drafting the complaint: In Mercer County, New Jersey, once you have decided to file a lawsuit, the first thing you usually have to do is draft a complaint. The complaint is a document that contains all of the allegations you're making against the defendant (the person whom you are suing). It usually must allege all of the facts necessary to constitute a cause of action, though in some systems, very few facts are strictly required to be alleged. It also typically has, at the end, a "prayer" (request) for relief. This final section tells the court what type of relief the plaintiff wants, should the court 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 Mercer County, 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 Mercer County, 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 Mercer County, New Jersey Tort Lawyer Help?

This article gives you a basic picture of what is required to file a lawsuit in Mercer County, New Jersey. However, it should not, under any circumstances, be read as a complete guide to the litigation process.

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