Litigation Lawyers in Manning

"Civil procedure" in Manning, South Carolina is a very broad term, and it refers to the wide variety of rules that govern how civil litigation is conducted. It is to be distinguished from substantive law, which governs the rights that civil litigation is meant to vindicate.

The civil procedure rules in Manning, South Carolina are designed around a few simple goals for the civil litigation system: efficiency, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and, most vitally, fairness.

Manning, South Carolina's civil procedure rules can get pretty intricate, however. They regulate every aspect of a civil action, from the filing of the complaint, to discovery, and all the way through trial and appeals.

Major Manning, South Carolina Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The first, and perhaps most important, part of filing a lawsuit in Manning, South Carolina is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Manning, South Carolina 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 simply 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 typically the first document that the defendant files, and it is meant to serve as a direct response to the plaintiff's complaint. It typically denies all of the plaintiff's major allegations. It might also lay out affirmative defenses. An "affirmative defense" is a set of circumstances that negate the defendant's liability even if their conduct would ordinarily be unlawful. For example, in a lawsuit for battery, a defendant might admit that he struck the plaintiff, but claim that he acted in self-defense. If that can be proven, it would negate, or mitigate, his liability to the plaintiff.

Discovery: Once both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next process in civil litigation in Manning, South Carolina is discovery. Under the civil procedure rules of most jurisdictions in the U.S., each side of a lawsuit is required by law to disclose relevant information to the other side. These disclosures come in the form of depositions, the production of documents, and answers to written questions submitted by opposing counsel.

Trial: Although the trial is arguably the most dramatic element of civil procedure in Manning, South Carolina, it is truly extremely rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in Manning is designed to encourage early settlement of cases, or dismissal of cases that don't have any legal or factual merit. However, 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 Manning, South Carolina Lawyer Help?

If you're suing someone, or are being sued, in Manning, South Carolina, dealing with issues of civil procedure is going to be a fact of life for quite some time.

Civil Procedure in Manning, South Carolina can be pretty intricate. It's always a good idea to have a lawyer who can advise you on how best to deal with these civil procedure issues.