A How To Guide: Filing a Civil Lawsuit

We hear legal terms and news stories of different cases and lawsuits, but how many people actually know how to file a civil lawsuit in your state?  One path is to hire an attorney or law firm to represent you and they will take care of all the legal proceedings, but only for a fee of course.  While retaining proper council is hands-down the best decision most of the time, it is important to understand how any citizen can file a civil case in your home state.  It's probably not a bad idea to look over a previous post I made outlining the difference between civil and criminal cases just as a refresher and to put into perspective what scenarios would qualify as a civil suit.  Each case is unique and the process truly is tailored to the needs of that particular suit and there is no way to outline every step that will occur, however there is a basic step-by-step process for all civil suits that I will try to outline.

So here is a scenario where an individual might feel compelled to file a civil suit against someone, and for the purpose of this explanation, they do not seek outside counsel representation.  Say Jim is driving on the highway and gets into a fender bender with Bob.  When the police arrive the issue Jim a traffic citation because they say he failed to maintain his lane, and the two parties exchange insurance relevant information.  A month later, Bob calls Jim and says I plan to sue you because your insurance company is not paying for all of the costs I expected to get fixed (he could be telling the truth, or he could just be trying to get that front passenger door fixed from 4 years ago).  Regardless, Bob decides to go ahead and sue Jim for the costs of the repairs he wants.  If he lives in New York City (and generally anywhere else) these are the steps he would need to take:

*legal documents are always in full uppercase*

Step 1 - Go to the Courthouse: The Plaintiff (Bob) goes to his local County Civil Courthouse, generally in the county where he resides.  Bob lives in NYC so he will go to the Civil Court (which houses Small Claims Court) at 111 Centre Street.

Step 2 - File Papers: Bob files a SUMMONS and COMPLAINT. Generally he could file these documents in the county courthouse where either the plaintiff (Bob) or the Defendant (Jim) reside.  Filing these documents with the County Clerk lets the defendant know they are being sued and what the lawsuit is about.  For New York City, there is also a $210.00 filing fee due at the time of document submission.

Step 3 - Decide How to Serve the Papers: Bob decides how to serve the defendant with the Summons and Complaint, either by mail or a third party process server.  The plaintiff cannot personally serve the papers and designated registered agent is also allowed to receive the papers on the defendants behalf.

Step 4 - Defendant Answer: Bob will then wait the specified time for the defendant to file his ANSWER, which is a court document similar to the SUMMONS and COMPLAINT where the defendant officially responds to each allegation in the plaintiffs papers and is filed in the same court.

Step 5 - Discovery: This is the period of time where each party is able to request information from each other, or get answers to questions or documents based on the facts laid forth in the court papers.  Failing to respond to Discovery in a timely or efficient manner will result in severe legal consequences.

Step 6 - MOTIONS:  Typically following Discovery but not always, both parties will have the opportunity to file any and all MOTIONS with the court.  A MOTION is a formal written request asking the court to do something.  There are numerous MOTIONS on a range of topics like: MOTION to Dismiss (when either party feels the lawsuit is not warranted), MOTION to Compel (filed to enforce a Discovery request), MOTION for Entry of Default Judgement (filed when defendant fails to respond to the original COMPLAINT and the judge can enter the final Judgement)

Step 7 - Judgement or Mediation/Settlement: The final step for Bob will be to enter mediation for a settlement (usually the preferred path), or take the case to trial where a judge or jury will enter a judgement.  Courts will often require both parties to go to mediation, where an independent mediator will hear and look at the facts and provide a suggestion for a settlement.  If both parties agree to the settlement, they are entering into a binding agreement enforced by the court.  If you elect to go to trial you better have a very strong claim and be prepared for additional fees and costs associated with going to trial. 

And that is about it!  These are the steps to file an official civil lawsuit and hopefully get some form of remedy to your COMPLAINT.  I hope this helps anyone seeking to file a lawsuit (although I hope you never have to actually file a suit in the first place!).