Litigation Lawyers in Shawnee

"Civil procedure" in Shawnee, Oklahoma is a very broad term, and it refers to the wide variety of rules that control how civil litigation is done. It is to be distinguished from substantive law, which controls the rights that civil litigation is meant to vindicate.

The rules of civil procedure in Shawnee, Oklahoma are designed to make the process of civil litigation as efficient, low-cost, simple, and fair as possible.

Civil litigation, however, is inherently intricate. So, there is no getting around the fact that the civil procedure rules in Shawnee, Oklahoma are also going to be somewhat difficult and obtuse (or at least parts of them are). Remember, these rules govern every single thing that happens in a civil lawsuit, from the first complaint, to the last appeal.

Major Shawnee, Oklahoma Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Shawnee, Oklahoma is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Shawnee, Oklahoma 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). Normally, 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: After the plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant has to act. While they have a few avenues at this stage of the game, most defendants elect to file an answer. The answer is the defendant's first direct response to the plaintiff's allegations. Occasionally, the answer contains a general denial, in which the defendant simply denies everything the plaintiff alleges. It might also contain a point-by-point addressing of every allegation the plaintiff makes, denying some, and admitting some.

Discovery: Once the complaint and answer have been filed in a Shawnee, Oklahoma court, the next major civil procedure issue comes up. Discovery is the procedure in which both sides of the lawsuit are obligated to disclose obligated evidence to one another. The lawyers for each side can submit written questions, which the other party is required to answer under oath, unless the information is privileged. Each side can also request any relevant documents, physical evidence, and can conduct depositions of witnesses and parties to the lawsuit.

Trial: It's quite rare for lawsuits in Shawnee, Oklahoma to go to trial. Shawnee's civil procedure rules really discourage trials, and rather have designed the system so that it's almost always more cost-effective to settle out of court. Nonetheless, if this is not possible, the matter will go to trial, where a judge and/or jury will decide the factual questions, and then award the appropriate relief (if any) to the prevailing party.

How Can a Shawnee, Oklahoma Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Shawnee, Oklahoma 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 a Shawnee, Oklahoma attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're immersed in a lawsuit.