Litigation Lawyers in Ellenville

In Ellenville, New York, "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 Ellenville, New York 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.

Civil litigation in Ellenville, New York is almost never a simple process. So, the rules controlling this process can't always be simple, either. Remember, civil procedure governs every single step of the civil litigation process, which can drag on for years.

Major Ellenville, New York Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Ellenville, New York is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Ellenville, New York 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: The answer is a document filed by the defendant, in response to a complaint. The answer typically contains a few things: normally, it denies most of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If it does not deny the factual assertions in the complaint, it will typically raise legal defenses, known as affirmative defenses, arguing that even if everything the plaintiff alleges is true, the defendant should not be held liable, because of extenuating circumstances.

Discovery: The civil procedure rules in Ellenville, New York were written with the purpose of, among other things, preventing surprises. For that reason, everyone engaged in a lawsuit goes into trial with a pretty good idea of what evidence the other side has. This is largely because of the discovery procedure, during which the attorneys for both sides are obligated to disclose (with some exemptions) all information relevant to the trial which they have in their possession. These disclosures come in several forms, such as simply sending boxes of documents, deposing witnesses, or submitting written questions to the other side, which the recipient is obligated to answer under oath.

Trial: Although the trial is arguably the most dramatic element of civil procedure in Ellenville, New York, it is truly very rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in Ellenville is designed to encourage early settlement of cases, or dismissal of cases that don't have any legal or factual merit. Nonetheless, in the rare cases when the case is not dismissed, and the parties can't reach a settlement, the matter will go to trial. A trial is the most visible aspect of civil litigation, and it is the stage when all of the legal and factual questions raised by both parties are resolved by a judge and jury, respectively.

How Can a Ellenville, New York Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Ellenville, New York 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 an Ellenville, New York attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're engaged in a lawsuit.