Litigation Lawyers in Raritan

If you are in Raritan, New Jersey and believe that some form of legal wrong has been committed against you, and determine 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 choice in seeking redress, you should not rush into this decision. A lawsuit is a time-consuming and costly process. You should not make a final decision without talking to a Raritan, New Jersey attorney.

Your Raritan, 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 avenues 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 Raritan, New Jersey

Consultation with your attorney: You should always speak with a Raritan, New Jersey lawyer who specializes in civil litigation before filing any type of lawsuit in a court in Raritan, New Jersey. Your lawyer will have critical 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: Once you determine that pursuing a lawsuit in Raritan, 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 procedure, 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 typically asks the court for particular 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 Raritan, New Jersey states that the defendant be given advance notice of the lawsuit as a matter of general 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, usually through the use of a paid process server.

Await The Response: The defendant has a given amount of time to respond to your lawsuit, once they confirm that they've been served in Raritan, New Jersey. The defendant will likely 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. Normally, the defendant will admit the allegations that are not seriously in dispute (for instance, 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 predetermined period of time, they are in "default," and basically lose the case automatically.

How Can A Raritan, New Jersey Tort Lawyer Help?

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

Thus, it is important that you consult a qualified civil litigation attorney before you file any type of lawsuit in Raritan, New Jersey.