Civil litigation is the way the parties turn to the court for assistance when they cannot resolve disputes themselves if it involves noncriminal matters such as contract, property, or personal injury matters.
The goal of the litigation process is to resolve a dispute between two parties who cannot solve it themselves. That is to ascertain the facts and make rulings that will help the parties move on to find some sort of resolution to their claims. The civil litigator brings the case from start to finish in front of a court and handles all aspects of discovery, communicates with the clients, or works the case through to a judgment when the parties cannot resolve it out of court.
Read below to learn more about what to know about DC civil litigations and how an experienced civil litigation lawyer could help you.
The parties involved in litigation are the plaintiff, defendants, and sometimes people who are either filing cross-claims or have been brought in to join the parties because they have interests in the outcome. All hope to achieve some sort of victory that will affirm their rights with respect to the other party.
The party that has the right to come to court and have the court rule in their favor is the owner of the claim. They are usually the party that has suffered some wrong and the one that has standing and the one who would directly benefit from having a judgment entered in their favor.
Real party in interest is the person or entity that has the rights that are at issue in the case, the ones that will be resolved directly by the court.
Cost is one of the limitations on litigation, and the likelihood of success on the merits is another. Sometimes, people are inhibited about what they can do and the limits on the types of claims they can bring. For example, they cannot bring a small claims matter in the circuit court. Instead, they have to bring it to a small claims court.
They cannot bring a probate court matter in the civil court. So, other courts have their own limitations on the type of cases they can hear, thus a person has to find the right court for their case. Sometimes, parties cannot afford to bring a case from start to finish, perhaps because the facts just are not good enough to support a case.
Even in the best of situations, litigation is expensive, extremely so at the higher levels. So, the attorney and the individual must work out at the beginning how much the case is going to cost to go from start to finish and develop a strategy to make sure the person can afford to pay the cost of the case. If not, there has to be another strategy.
Limited availability of resources in a civil litigation becomes a hurdle when the person cannot afford to pay for the defense they want. That leaves them the option of bringing the case themselves pro se, which means they have to understand the procedure. It also means they may have a hard time making it into court in the first place or getting far once they do.
One of the most common misconceptions regarding civil litigations is that all cases are clear, and it is easy to win. Another misconception is that civil litigations are quick. Instead, civil litigations may be challenging to win and could take several months or years for a resolution. Sometimes people do not understand the complexity of some cases. Call today for more information about what to know about DC civil litigations. Let a seasoned lawyer assist you with your situation.
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