Lawsuit

A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more
parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law.[1] The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a
small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used with respect to a civil action
brought by a plaintiff (a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's
actions) who requests a legal remedy or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is
required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint or else risk default judgment. If the plaintiff is
successful, judgment is entered in favor of the defendant. A variety of court orders may be
issued in connection with or as part of the judgment to enforce a right, award damages or
restitution, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A
declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.

A lawsuit may involve resolution of disputes involving issues of private law between individuals,
business entities or non-profit organizations. A lawsuit may also involve issues of public law in
the sense that the state is treated as if it were a private party in a civil case, either as a plaintiff
with a civil cause of action to enforce certain laws, or as a defendant in actions contesting the
legality of the state's laws or seeking monetary damages for injuries caused by agents of the
state.

Conducting a civil action is called litigation. The plaintiffs and defendants are called litigants and
the attorneys representing them are called litigators.[2] The term litigation may also refer to the
conducting of criminal actions (see criminal procedure).
Etymology
The word "lawsuit" derives from the combination of law and suit. Suit derives from the old
French "suite, sieute" meaning to pursue or follow. This term was derived from the Latin
"secutus", the past participle of "sequi" meaning to attend or follow.[3]

Similarly, the word "sue", derives from the old French "suir, sivre" meaning to pursue or follow
after. This was also derived from the Latin word "sequi".[4]

Rules of procedure and

complications
Rules of criminal or civil procedure govern the conduct of a lawsuit in the common law
adversarial system of dispute resolution. Procedural rules arise from statutory law, case law, and
constitutional provisions (especially the right to due process). The details of each kind of legal
procedure differ greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and often from court to court even
within the same jurisdiction. It is important for litigants to be aware of all relevant procedural
rules (or to hire competent counsel who can either comply with such rules on their behalf or
explain the rules to them), because the litigants ultimately dictate the timing and progression of
the lawsuit. Litigants are responsible for obtaining the desired result and the timing of reaching
this result. Failure to comply with procedural rules may result in serious limitations that can
affect the ability of one to present claims or defenses at any subsequent trial, or even lead to the
dismissal of the lawsuit altogether.

Though the majority of lawsuits are settled before ever reaching trial, they can still be very
complicated to litigate. This is particularly true in federal systems, where a federal court may be
applying state law (e.g. the Erie doctrine, for example in the United States),[5] or vice versa. It is
also possible for one state to apply the law of another in cases where additionally it may not be
clear which level (or location) of court actually has jurisdiction over the claim or personal
jurisdiction over the defendant, or whether the plaintiff has standing to participate in a lawsuit.
About 98 percent of civil cases in the United States federal courts are resolved without a trial.
Domestic courts are also often called upon to apply foreign law, or to act upon foreign
defendants, over whom they may not even have the ability to enforce a judgment if the
defendant's assets are theoretically outside their reach.

Lawsuits can become additionally complicated as more parties become involved (see joinder).
Within a "single" lawsuit, there can be any number of claims and defenses (all based on
numerous laws) between any number of plaintiffs or defendants. Each of these participants can
bring any number of cross claims and counterclaims against each other, and even bring
additional parties into the suit on either side after it progresses. In reality however, courts
typically have some power to sever claims and parties into separate actions if it is more efficient
to do so. A court can do this if there is not a sufficient overlap of factual issues between the
various associates, separating the issues into different lawsuits.

The official ruling of a lawsuit can be somewhat misleading because post-ruling outcomes are
often not listed on the internet. For example, in the case of William J. Ralph Jr. v. Lind-Waldock &
Company[6] (September 1999), one would assume that Ralph lost the case when in fact, upon
review of the evidence, it was found that Ralph was correct in his assertion that improper activity
took place on the part of Lind-Waldock, and Ralph settled with Lind-Waldock.[7]

Cases such as this illustrate the need for more comprehensive information than mere internet
searches when researching legal decisions. While online searches are appropriate for many
legal situations, they are not appropriate for all.

Somebody might wanna fix this - seems kinda personal and btw it's "Internet".

Procedure
The following is a generalized description of how a lawsuit may proceed in a common law
jurisdiction:
Pleading
A lawsuit begins when a complaint or petition, known as a pleading,[8] is filed with the court. A
complaint should explicitly state that one or more plaintiffs seek(s) damages or equitable relief
from one or more stated defendants, and also should state the relevant factual allegations
supporting the legal claims brought by the plaintiffs. As the initial pleading, a complaint (http://w
ww.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_
courts_work/pleadings.html/) is the most important step in a civil case because a complaint
sets the factual and legal foundation for the entirety of a case. While complaints and other
pleadings may ordinarily be amended by a motion with the court, the complaint sets the
framework for the entire case and the claims that will be asserted throughout the entire lawsuit.

It is likewise important that the plaintiff select the proper venue with the proper jurisdiction to
bring the lawsuit. The clerk of a court signs or stamps the court seal upon a summons or
citation, which is then served by the plaintiff upon the defendant, together with a copy of the
complaint. This service notifies the defendants that they are being sued and that they are limited
in the amount of time to reply. The service provides a copy of the complaint in order to notify the
defendants of the nature of the claims. Once the defendants are served with the summons and
complaint, they are subject to a time limit to file an answer stating their defenses to the
plaintiff's claims, which includes any challenges to the court's jurisdiction, and any
counterclaims they wish to assert against the plaintiff.

In a handful of jurisdictions (notably, the U.S. state of New York) a lawsuit begins when one or
more plaintiffs properly serve a summons and complaint upon the defendants. In such
jurisdictions, nothing must be filed with the court until a dispute develops requiring actual
judicial intervention.

If the defendant chooses to file an answer within the time permitted, the answer must address
each of the plaintiffs' allegations. The defendant has three choices to make, which include either
admitting to the allegation, denying it, or pleading a lack of sufficient information to admit or
deny the allegation. Some jurisdictions, like California and Florida, still authorize general denials
of each and every allegation in the complaint. At the time the defendant files an answer, the
defendant also raises all "affirmative" defenses. The defendant may also assert counterclaims
for damages or equitable relief against the plaintiff. For example, in the case of "compulsory
counterclaims," the defendant must assert some form of counterclaim or risk having the
counterclaim barred in any subsequent proceeding. In the case of making a counterclaim, the
defendant is making a motion directed towards the plaintiff claiming that he/she was injured in
some way or would like to sue the plaintiff. The plaintiff in this example would then receive some
amount of time to make a reply to this counterclaim. The defendant may also file a "third party
complaint", which is the defendant's privilege to join another party or parties in the action with
the belief that those parties may be liable for some or all of the plaintiff's claimed damages. An
answer from the defendant in response to the claims made against him/her, can also include
additional facts or a so-called "excuse" for the plead. Filing an answer "joins the cause" and
moves the case into the pre-trial phase.

Instead of filing an answer within the time specified in the summons, the defendant can choose
to dispute the validity of the complaint by filing a demurrer (in the handful of jurisdictions where
that is still allowed) or one or more "pre-answer motions," such as a motion to dismiss. It is
important that the motion be filed within the time period specified in the summons for an
answer. If all of the above motions are denied by the trial court, and the defendant loses on all
appeals from such denials (if that option is available), and finally the defendant must file an
answer.

Usually the pleadings are drafted by a lawyer, but in many courts persons can file papers and
represent themselves, which is called appearing pro se. Many courts have a pro se clerk to assist
people without lawyers.

Pretrial discovery
A pretrial discovery can be defined as "the formal process of exchanging information between
the parties about the witnesses and evidence they'll present at trial" and allows for the evidence
of the trial to be presented to the parties before the initial trial begins.[9] The early stages of the
lawsuit may involve initial disclosures of evidence by each party and discovery, which is the
structured exchange of evidence and statements between the parties. Discovery is meant to
eliminate surprises, clarify what the lawsuit is about, and also to make the parties decide if they
should settle or drop frivolous claims or defenses. At this point the parties may also engage in
pretrial motions to exclude or include particular legal or factual issues before trial.
There is also the ability of one to make an under oath statement during the pretrial, also known
as a deposition. The deposition can be used in the trial or just in the pretrial, but this allows for
both parties to be aware of the arguments or claims that are going to be made by the other party
in the trial. It is notable that the depositions can be written or oral.[10]

At the close of discovery, the parties may either pick a jury and then have a trial by jury or the
case may proceed as a bench trial. A bench trial is only heard by the judge if the parties waive a
jury trial or if the right to a jury trial is not guaranteed for their particular claim (such as those
under equity in the U.S.) or for any lawsuits within their jurisdiction.

Resolution
Usually, lawsuits end in a settlement, with an empirical analysis finding that less than 2% of
cases end with a trial.[11] It is sometimes said that 95% of cases end in settlement; few
jurisdictions report settlements, but empirical analysis suggests that the settlement rate varies
by type of lawsuit, with torts settling around 90% of the time and overall civil cases settling 50%
of the time; other cases end due to default judgment, lack of a valid claim, and other reasons.[11]

At trial, each person presents witnesses and the evidence collected is recorded. After this
occurs, the judge or jury renders their decision. Generally speaking, the plaintiff has the burden
of proof in making his claims, however, the defendant may have the burden of proof on other
issues, such as affirmative defenses. The attorneys are held responsible in devising a trial
strategy that ensures they meet the necessary elements of their case or (when the opposing
party has the burden of proof) to ensure the opponent will not be able to meet his or her burden.

There are numerous motions that either party can file throughout the lawsuit to terminate it
"prematurely"—before submission to the judge or jury for final consideration. These motions
attempt to persuade the judge, through legal argument and sometimes accompanying evidence,
that there is no reasonable way that the other party could legally win and therefore there is no
sense in continuing with the trial. Motions for summary judgment, for example, can usually be
brought before, after, or during the actual presentation of the case. Motions can also be brought
after the close of a trial to undo a jury verdict contrary to law or against the weight of the
evidence, or to convince the judge to change the decision or grant a new trial.
Also, at any time during this process from the filing of the complaint to the final judgment, the
plaintiff may withdraw the complaint and end the whole matter, or the defendant may agree to a
settlement. If the case settles, the parties might choose to enter into a stipulated judgment with
the settlement agreement attached, or the plaintiff may simply file a voluntary dismissal, so that
the settlement agreement is never entered into the court record.

The decisions that the jury makes are not put into effect until the judge makes a judgment,
which is the approval to have this trial information be filed in public records. In a civil case, the
judge is allowed at this time to make changes to the verdict that the jury came up with by either
adding on or reducing the punishment. In criminal cases the situation is a little different,
because in this case the judge does not have the authority to change the jury decision.

Appeal
After a final decision has been made, either party or both may appeal from the judgment if they
believe there had been a procedural error made by the trial court. It is not necessarily an
automatic appeal after every judgment has been made, however, if there is a legal basis for the
appeal, then one has the right to do so. The prevailing party may appeal, for example, if they
wanted a larger award than was granted. The appellate court (which may be structured as an
intermediate appellate court) and/or a higher court then affirms the judgment, declines to hear it
(which effectively affirms it), reverses—or vacates and remands. This process would then involve
sending the lawsuit back to the lower trial court to address an unresolved issue, or possibly
request for a whole new trial. Some lawsuits go up and down the appeals ladder repeatedly
before final resolution.

The appeal is a review for errors rather than a new trial, so the appellate court will defer to the
discretion of the original trial court if an error is not clear. The initial step in making an appeal
consists of the petitioner filing a notice of appeal and then sending in a brief, a written document
stating reason for appeal, to the court. Decisions of the court can be made immediately after
just reading the written brief, or there can also be oral arguments made by both parties involved
in the appeal. The appellate court then makes the decision about what errors were made when
the law was looked at more closely in the lower court. There were no errors made, the case
would then end, but if the decision was reversed, the appellate court would then send the case
back down to the lower court level. There, a new trial will be held and new information taken into
account.

Some jurisdictions, notably the United States, but prevalent in many other countries, prevent
parties from relitigating the facts on appeal, due to a history of unscrupulous lawyers
deliberately reserving such issues in order to ambush each other in the appellate courts (the
"invited error" problem). The idea is that it is more efficient to force all parties to fully litigate all
relevant issues of fact before the trial court. Thus, a party who does not raise an issue of fact at
the trial court level generally cannot raise it on appeal.

When the lawsuit is finally resolved, or the allotted time to appeal has expired, the matter is res
judicata, meaning the plaintiff may not bring another action based on the same claim again. In
addition, other parties who later attempt to re-litigate a matter already ruled on in a previous
lawsuit will be estopped from doing so.

Enforcement
When a final judgment is entered, the plaintiff is usually barred under the doctrine of res judicata
from relitigating any of the issues, even under different legal theories. Judgments are typically a
monetary award. If the defendant fails to pay, the court has various powers to seize any of the
defendant's assets located within its jurisdiction, such as:

Writ of execution
Bank account garnishment
Liens
Wage garnishment
If all assets are located elsewhere, the plaintiff must file another suit in the appropriate court to
seek enforcement of the other court's previous judgment. This can be a difficult task when
crossing from a court in one state or nation to another, however, courts tend to grant each other
respect when there is not a clear legal rule to the contrary. A defendant who has no assets in any
jurisdiction is said to be "judgment-proof."[12] The term is generally a colloquialism to describe an
impecunious defendant.

Indigent judgment-proof defendants are no longer imprisoned; debtor's prisons have been
outlawed by statute, constitutional amendment, or international human rights treaties in the vast
majority of common law jurisdictions.

Research in law, economics

and management
Scholars in law, economics and management have studied why firms involved in a dispute
choose between private dispute resolution—such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration—and
litigation.[13][14]

Terminology
During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was common for lawyers to speak of bringing an "action"
at law and a "suit" in equity. An example of that distinction survives today in the codified text of
the Third Enforcement Act. The fusion of common law and equity in England in the Judicature
Acts of 1873 and 1875 led to the collapse of that distinction, so it became possible to speak of a
"lawsuit." In the United States, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1938) abolished the
distinction between actions at law and suits in equity in federal practice, in favor of a single form
referred to as a "civil action."

In England and Wales the term "claim" is far more common; the person initiating proceedings is
called the claimant.[15] England and Wales began to turn away from traditional common law
terminology with the Rules of the Supreme Court (1883), in which the "statement of claim" and
"defence" replaced the traditional complaint and answer as the pleadings by which parties
placed their case at issue before the trial court.

American terminology is slightly different, in that the term "claim" refers only to a particular
count or cause of action alleged in a complaint.[15] Similarly, "defense" refers to only one or more
affirmative defenses alleged in an answer.[16] Americans also use "claim" to describe an
extrajudicial demand filed with an insurer or administrative agency.[15] If the claim is denied, then
the claimant, policyholder, or applicant files a lawsuit with the courts to seek review of that
decision, and from that point forward participates in the lawsuit as a plaintiff. In other words, the
terms "claimant" and "plaintiff" carry substantially different connotations of formality in
American English, in that only the latter risks an award of costs in favor of an adversary in a
lawsuit.

In medieval times, both "action" and "suit" had the approximate meaning of some kind of legal
proceeding, but an action terminated when a judgment was rendered, while a suit also included
the execution of the judgment.

Financing
Particularly in the United States, plaintiffs and defendants who lack financial resources for
litigation or other attorney's fees may be able to obtain legal financing. Legal financing
companies can provide a cash advance to litigants in return for a share of the ultimate
settlement or award. If the case ultimately loses, the litigant does not have to pay any of the
money funded back. Legal financing is different from a typical bank loan in that the legal
financing company does not look at credit history or employment history. Litigants do not have
to repay the cash advance with monthly payments, but do have to fill out an application so that
the legal financing company can review the merits of the case.

Legal financing can be a practical means for litigants to obtain financing while they wait for a
monetary settlement or an award in their personal injury, workers' compensation, or civil rights
lawsuit. Often, plaintiffs who were injured or forced to leave their jobs still have mortgages, rent,
medical expenses, or other bills to pay. Other times, litigants may simply need money to pay for
the costs of litigation and attorneys' fees, and for this reason, many litigants turn to reputable
legal financing companies to apply for a cash advance to help pay for bills.
Defendants, civil rights organizations, public interest organizations, and government public
officials can all set up an account to pay for litigation costs and legal expenses. These legal
defense funds can have large membership counts where the members contribute to the fund.
Unlike legal financing from legal financing companies, legal defense funds provide a separate
account for litigation rather than a one-time cash advancement, nevertheless, both are used for
purposes of financing litigation and legal costs.

There was a study conducted in the Supreme Court Economic Review that shows why litigation
financing can be practical and beneficial to the overall court system and lawsuits within the
court. This study concluded that the new rules that were set for litigation financing actually did
produce more settlements. Under conservative rules, there tended to be fewer settlements,
however under the older rules they tended to be larger on average.[17]

Legal financing can become an issue in some cases, varying from case to case and person to
person. It can be beneficial in many situations, however also detrimental in others.

See also

Actio popularis Look up

lawsuit or
Arbitration actio
popularis
Brief (law)
in
Civil law Wiktionary,
the free
Civil recovery dictionary.

Compensation culture Wikiquote

has
 Hearing (law) quotations
related to
Indispensable party Lawsuit.

Legal case
List of environmental lawsuits
Private prosecution
Restorative justice
Strategic lawsuit against public
participation
Trial

Notes

References

1. Brian A. Garner, ed. (2014). "Suit". Black's

 Law Dictionary (10th ed.). West.
2. Abram, Lisa L. (2000). "Civil Litigation". The
Official Guide to Legal Specialties (https://a
rchive.org/details/officialguidetol00abra/pa
ge/71) . Chicago: National Association for
Law Placement, Harcourt Legal &
Professional Publications. p. 71 (https://arc
hive.org/details/officialguidetol00abra/pag
e/71) . ISBN 978-0-15-900391-6.
3. Online Etymology Dictionary. "lawsuit (n.)"
(https://www.etymonline.com/word/lawsui
t) . Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas
Harper. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
4. Online Etymology Dictionary. "sue (v.)" (http
s://www.etymonline.com/word/sue) .
Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas
Harper. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
5. Galanter, Marc; Cahill, Mia (1993). "Most
Cases Settle: Judicial Promotion and
Regulation of Settlements". Stanford Law
Review. 46 (6): 1339–1391.
doi:10.2307/1229161 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F1229161) . JSTOR 1229161 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/1229161) .
6. "WILLIAM J. RALPH, JR., Complainant, v.
LIND-WALDOCK & COMPANY and JEFFREY
KUNST, Respondents" (https://www.cftc.go
v/ucm/groups/public/@lrdispositions/docu
ments/legalpleading/idralph092100.pdf)
(PDF). Cftc.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
7. "WILLIAM J. RALPH, JR., Complainant, v.
LIND-WALDOCK & COMPANY, Respondent"
(https://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/
@lrdispositions/documents/legalpleading/i
dralph32402.pdf) (PDF). Cftc.gov.
Retrieved 3 October 2017.
8. "Pleading: AxonHCS" (https://iapps.courts.s
tate.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?d
ocumentId=s1eAEN1PR1BT04xNmrDrcw=
=) . New York State Unified Court System.
Retrieved December 14, 2018.
9. "How Courts Work: Steps in a Trial –
Discovery" (http://www.americanbar.org/gr
oups/public_education/resources/law_relat
ed_education_network/how_courts_work/di
scovery.html/) . American Bar Association.
Retrieved June 23, 2015.
10. "Glossary D: Deposition" (http://www.ameri
canbar.org/groups/public_education/resour
ces/law_related_education_network/glossa
ry/glossary_d.html#deposition) . American
Bar Association. Archived (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20150624013431/http://www.
americanbar.org/groups/public_education/
resources/law_related_education_network/
glossary/glossary_d.html) from the
original on 24 June 2015. Retrieved
June 23, 2015.
11. Barkai, John; Kent, Elizabeth (2014-01-01).
"Let's Stop Spreading Rumors About
Settlement and Litigation: A Comparative
Study of Settlement and Litigation in Hawaii
Courts". Rochester, NY: Social Science
Research Network. SSRN 2398550 (https://
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract
_id=2398550) . {{cite journal}}: Cite
journal requires |journal= (help)
12. Dionne, Georges (1992). Foundations of
Insurance Economics: Readings in
Economics and Finance. Springer. ISBN 0-
7923-9204-3.
13. Bebchuk, Lucian (1984). "Litigation and
settlement under imperfect information".
RAND Journal of Economics. 15 (3): 404–
415. JSTOR 2555448 (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/2555448) .
14. Richman, Barak (2004). "Firms, courts, and
reputation mechanisms: Toward a positive
theory of private ordering" (https://scholars
hip.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?articl
e=1928&context=faculty_scholarship) .
Columbia Law Review. 104 (8): 2328–2368.
doi:10.2307/4099361 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F4099361) . JSTOR 4099361 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/4099361) .
S2CID 43455841 (https://api.semanticscho
lar.org/CorpusID:43455841) .
15. Steadman, Jean (2013). Drafting Legal
Documents in Plain English (https://books.
google.com/books?id=FC9plSpeRroC&pg=
PA23) . Milan: Giuffrè Editore. p. 23.
ISBN 9788814184772. Retrieved
31 December 2022.
16. Steadman, Jean (2013). Drafting Legal
Documents in Plain English (https://books.
google.com/books?id=FC9plSpeRroC&pg=
PA18) . Milan: Giuffrè Editore. p. 18.
ISBN 9788814184772. Retrieved
31 December 2022.
 17. Inglis, Laura; McCabe, Kevin (2010). "The
Effects of Litigation Financing Rules on
Settlement Rates" (https://doi.org/10.108
6%2F659984) . Supreme Court Economic
Review. University of California, Santa
Barbara. 18 (1): 135–15.
doi:10.1086/659984 (https://doi.org/10.10
86%2F659984) . JSTOR 10.1086/659984
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/659
984) . S2CID 154317478 (https://api.sema
nticscholar.org/CorpusID:154317478) .

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