Justia Legal Resources: Guide to Lawsuits and the Court Process

Going to court can be daunting. There’s a broad range of issues that you may want to understand if you’re involved in a lawsuit. Justia provides a free resource that can help you cut through the complexities and avoid potential pitfalls.

If you’re considering bringing a lawsuit, or if you’ve been sued by someone else, you may come across a lot of unfamiliar terms and concepts. Legal jargon can be hard to figure out, as can the procedural rules for bringing or responding to a case. A section of the Lawyers and the Legal Process Center in the Justia Legal Guides tries to make lawsuits and the court process more accessible to the average person. This allows them to better assert their rights and protect their interests if they end up in litigation. Here are some common questions to which this resource provides some general answers.

Court of Justice and law trial.

What Can You Ask a Court To Do?

What you want the court to do is usually called a “remedy.” You can seek one type of remedy or a combination. The main type of remedy is damages, which is money that the court orders a defendant to pay to the plaintiff as compensation for what the defendant did wrong. Another common type of remedy is an injunction. This is an order that tells the defendant to do or not do something. Less often, a plaintiff might seek a declaratory judgment. This is an order that defines the legal rights and obligations of the parties to the dispute, but without ordering the defendant to pay damages or issuing an injunction.

When Can a Federal Court Hear a Case?

There are two main situations in which a federal court might be able to hear a case. The first is when the lawsuit raises a question of federal law. The other situation is when the lawsuit is asking the court to order at least $75,000 in damages, and no plaintiff in the case is from the same state as any defendant. This is called “diversity of citizenship.” Otherwise, a state court will hear the case.

What’s a Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations is a deadline for filing a lawsuit. It’s critical to file within the applicable deadline because the defendant probably can get your case dismissed if you don’t. It doesn’t matter how obvious their liability is or how seriously you were harmed. Each state imposes different statutes of limitations for different types of claims. Two of the most common statutes of limitations are those for personal injury cases and for lawsuits based on contracts. Our 50-state survey on civil statutes of limitations sets out these deadlines and others, while providing statutory references to explore further.

What Happens in a Deposition?

In a deposition, a party to a lawsuit or one of their witnesses answers questions under oath. (This means that lying would be considered perjury.) A private court reporter creates a transcript of the deposition for future reference. Knowing what a witness will say in advance helps the other side plan their strategy. If a witness says something different at trial from what they said in the deposition, moreover, this might support an argument that the witness shouldn’t be trusted.

Attorney woman on a courtroom.

What Is Summary Judgment?

Summary judgment is a way to end a case before it gets to the jury. This may be granted when there’s no real dispute over the facts of what happened in the case, and the parties simply disagree about how the law applies to those facts. The judge can rule in favor of one party or the other at this point because they don’t need the help of the jury to apply the law. (A jury sorts out the facts instead.) However, if there’s any dispute over a fact that matters to the outcome of the case, it will need to go to the jury.

When Do You Have a Right to a Jury Trial in a Lawsuit?

Under the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, there’s a right to a jury trial if the plaintiff is asking for more than $20 in damages. However, the parties can agree to forgo this protection and have the judge decide the case in a bench trial. You generally aren’t entitled to a jury in a case when the plaintiff is seeking only an injunction or another non-monetary remedy, also known as “equitable relief.” A judge will decide this type of case on their own.

How Does Jury Selection Work?

Courts use a process called voir dire to decide which people from the jury pool will serve on the jury. If a juror appears to be biased, such as when they know one of the parties or have a certain strong viewpoint relevant to the case, they can be excluded for cause. Each side also can exclude up to a certain number of jurors without cause, when there’s no evident bias, although there are some constitutional limits on this right.

Male lawyer having a team meeting with a businesswoman client

When Can I File an Appeal?

You can file an appeal from a final judgment in your case. This doesn’t mean that you can only appeal after a trial. You can appeal after the judge grants a motion for summary judgment or a motion to dismiss by the other side, since these end a case. There are certain exceptions to the final judgment rule, such as when a judge denies your request for a preliminary injunction.

Should I Join a Class Action?

If you join a class action, you’ll be bound by the outcome of the case. In other words, if the case fails, you won’t be able to bring a separate claim. If the case succeeds, you’ll get a share of any money awarded in a settlement or judgment. On the other hand, if you opt out of a class action, the result of that case won’t affect you either positively or negatively. You keep the right to bring your own lawsuit, and you will have more control over how that case is pursued.

Should I File in Small Claims Court?

Small claims court tends to be a relatively informal, efficient process that generally just involves the two parties presenting their arguments directly to a judge. There are usually no juries or attorneys. It can be a good option if you’re seeking only a small amount of money, and you’re not looking for any non-monetary remedy. For example, perhaps you just want someone who borrowed money from you to repay it, or perhaps you want your neighbor to compensate you for minor property damage. However, you should check the damages limit for your local small claims court and make sure that you don’t want to pursue a greater amount.

Final Thoughts

While you might be tempted to represent yourself in a lawsuit, you probably should work with a lawyer if the case has significant stakes. There’s no substitute for the guidance of a knowledgeable, experienced professional. You may want to explore the Justia Lawyer Directory to find attorneys in your region who handle the type of case that you’re facing. In the meantime, though, the Lawyers and the Legal Process Center explains the basics of how lawsuits work. Like the other Justia Legal Guides, it furthers our mission of making the law free and accessible to all.