Litigation Lawyers in North Wildwood

If you are in North Wildwood, 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 North Wildwood, New Jersey attorney.

Your North Wildwood, 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 North Wildwood, New Jersey

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

Drafting a Complaint: Once you have decided to go through with filing a lawsuit in a North Wildwood, New Jersey court, you need to draft a complaint, with the help of your lawyer. A complaint is typically the first step in actually filing a lawsuit. The complaint is the plaintiff's first opportunity to lay out the allegations against the defendant. If a complaint doesn't allege facts that add up to a valid lawsuit (that is, even if everything alleged in the complaint is true, the defendant has still not committed a legal wrong that the court can compensate), the case will have to be dismissed. When a case is dismissed for this reason, the court typically gives the plaintiff a chance to re-submit the complaint, with the errors corrected.

Serving the Defendant: When you have decided that you want to file a lawsuit in North Wildwood, New Jersey, and have drafted the complaint, your next major step is to file the complaint with the court, and serve it on the defendant. The defendant must be given at least several weeks' notice that they're being sued, and as much time to review the complaint. This is a matter of basic fairness and due process, and allows the defendant to hire a lawyer and get to work on a defense. The law requires that the defendant be served in a few particular ways. The first choice is to give it to them in person. This has to be done by a person who does not have any direct involvement in the lawsuit. If that isn't possible, the defendant can be served by giving the complaint to another adult member of their household; this is called substituted service.

Awaiting the Defendant's Response: Once a lawsuit has been filed, and the defendant has been served in North Wildwood, New Jersey, the defendant has time to respond. They typically do so by drafting an answer to the complaint, in which they deny the plaintiff's allegations, or assert a legal defense. If the defendant fails to respond within a set period of time, they will be in default, and you may be able to get a "default judgment" against them, in which all of your allegations against the defendant are treated as if the defendant admitted them, and you only need to establish that you've suffered losses that warrant the damages you're asking for.

How Can A North Wildwood, New Jersey Tort Lawyer Help?

The basic outline above does not come close to covering all the details involved in filing a lawsuit in North Wildwood, New Jersey.

Accordingly, it's always a good idea to speak with a North Wildwood, New Jersey litigation attorney if you are contemplating filing a lawsuit against a person or company.