Civil litigation
Civil litigation is a legal dispute between two or more parties that seeks money damages or specific performance rather than criminal sanctions. We, practice civil litigation represent parties in trials, hearings, arbitrations and mediations before administrative agencies, foreign tribunals and federal, state and local courts.
Civil litigation encompasses a broad range of disputes. Civil litigators generally specialize in one or two specific practice areas. Several common types of civil litigation include:
- Landlord/Tenant
- Products Liability
- Personal injury
- Construction
- Medical Malpractice
- Employment & Labor
- Real Estate
- Anti-Trust
- Intellectual Property
- Environmental
- Worker’s Compensation
Unlike criminal prosecution, civil action is a lawsuit brought to court in order to receive damages or to recover a right. Civil litigation usually involves disputes of private law issues between individuals, businesses or non-profit organizations. At the same time, civil litigations can entail public law issues.
A civil litigation lawsuit is started as soon as the plaintiff files a written complaint. The defendant will then respond and deliver a written “answer” to the complaint in order to make any kind of plea.
After the answer is filed the parties engage in the “discovery” process. At this point the parties will learn about all the facts involved in the case in order to prepare the trial. The discovery process includes witness questioning and answering, the exchange of documents, as well as written questions, known as “interrogations".