Litigation Lawyers in Mastic

If you are in Mastic, New York 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 are contemplating filing a lawsuit, you should know that there are many factors that need to be considered before doing so. You should definitely retain a brilliant attorney from Mastic, New York before you proceed.

Your Mastic, New York 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 Mastic, New York

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

Drafting a Complaint: Once you have decided to go through with filing a lawsuit in a Mastic, New York court, you need to draft a complaint, with the help of your lawyer. A complaint is normally 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 normally 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 Mastic, New York, 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 certain 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 Mastic, New York, the defendant has time to respond. They normally 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 show that you've suffered losses that warrant the damages you're asking for.

How Can A Mastic, New York Tort Lawyer Help?

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

Therefore, it is important that you consult a qualified civil litigation attorney before you file any type of lawsuit in Mastic, New York.