Litigation Lawyers in West Columbia

"Civil procedure" in West Columbia, South Carolina 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 civil procedure rules in West Columbia, South Carolina are designed around a few simple goals for the civil litigation system: efficiency, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and, most notably, fairness.

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

Major West Columbia, South Carolina Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in West Columbia, South Carolina is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in West Columbia, 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). 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 both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next procedure in civil litigation in West Columbia, South Carolina is discovery. Under the civil procedure rules of most jurisdictions in the U.S., each side of a lawsuit is obligated 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 West Columbia, South Carolina, it is really very rare for civil lawsuits to make it this far. Civil procedure in West Columbia 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 West Columbia, South Carolina Lawyer Help?

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

In West Columbia, South Carolina, procedural complications can derail an otherwise-valid case. They can also be some of the most obtuse and convoluted issues in the whole case. Thus, you should not go into something like this without the counsel of an attorney.