Litigation Lawyers in Stephenville

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

Stephenville, Texas's government strives to make the civil justice system fair, efficient, and accessible. The rules of civil procedure are designed to advocate those goals, to the greatest extent possible.

Civil litigation, however, is inherently complicated. So, there is no getting around the fact that the civil procedure rules in Stephenville, Texas are also going to be somewhat confusing 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 Stephenville, Texas Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: Perhaps the most significant part of filing a lawsuit in Stephenville, Texas is the complaint. The complaint is a document filed with a Stephenville, Texas court that lays out the plaintiff's (the individual filing the suit) allegations against the defendant (the individual being sued), as well as the relief that the plaintiff is seeking from the court.

Answer: For the defendant, the answer is typically the first document they file in a lawsuit. As the name suggests, it "answers" the plaintiff's complaint. The answer normally denies most, or all, of the allegations made by the plaintiff. If the allegations are factually correct, and the defendant knows this, the defendant might admit that the allegations are true, but because of extenuating circumstances, they should not be held liable. For instance, in a lawsuit for battery, a defendant might admit that they did strike the plaintiff, but claim that they were acting in self-defense, which would negate or weaken the plaintiff's case.

Discovery: Once both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next procedure in civil litigation in Stephenville, Texas 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: It is truly quite rare for civil lawsuits in Stephenville, Texas to go to trial, since the rules of civil procedure in Stephenville highly encourage early resolution to cases by dismissal of lawsuits that have no merit, and negotiated settlement of those that do. Nonetheless, when neither of those things happen, the case goes to trial. This is when a judge and jury determine the questions of law and fact, respectively, raised in the case. The jury then issues a verdict, based on the evidence presented to them.

How Can a Stephenville, Texas Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Stephenville, Texas whether as the plaintiff or defendant, you will have to interact with your jurisdiction's civil procedure rules.

Because the rules of civil procedure in Stephenville, Texas are intricate, it's smart to have the counsel of an efficient attorney through every step of the process.