A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party starting the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy for an alleged harm. It usually involves trying to solve private legal issues between people, businesses or non-profit organizations. One or more defendants are required to answer or respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment will be given in the plaintiff's favor, and a range of court orders may be issued to enforce a right, impose a penalty, award damages, impose an injunction to prevent an act or compel an act, or to obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes.
Though the vast majority of lawsuits are settled and never even get to trial, they can expand into a very complicated process. This is particularly true in federal systems, where a federal court may be applying state law, or one state may apply the law of another state, and where it may not be clear which location or type of court actually has jurisdiction over the claim or personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
Lawsuits become more complicated as more parties become involved. Even within a "single" lawsuit, there can be any number of claims and defenses (all based on various laws) between any number of plaintiffs or defendants, who each 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.
Filing a Lawsuit.
Where, how and when you file a lawsuit are the first hurdles you face in going from your knowledge of some injury or wrong, or pending wrong, to ultimate satisfaction. Each of these things will be controled by state or federal rules of civil procedure, and if you are in state court you will also need to file in accordance with state and local rules of court. Where you file your suit is the first consideration; while you want to make it the most convenient and economical for you, you also generally have to file in a location appropriate for the person or business you are suing.
The "how" of filing a lawsuit as it refers to the actual complaint itself is also governed by rules and laws. If your complaint is not well-written and detailed in compliance with applicable rules and laws, the person you are suing may be able to have it dismissed at an early stage, or have the court cut out portions of your claim, or force you to re-write the complaint and submit it again.
When you file a lawsuit, as should probably be clear by now, is also governed by rules and laws. Complaints are only allowed to be filed within a cerain period of time after a harmful event. This period of time is called the statute of limitations. Wait too long to file, and your case may be thrown out by the court without a chance to ever pursue it again. Different kinds of lawsuits have different statutes of limitations, and our firm can often find a way to allow your complaint to go forward even if at first it appears that too much time has already passed.
What all this means is that your choice of a law firm to represent you matters. Successful civil litigation requires more than just a lawyer learning some laws and recognizing that some harm has been done to you. From the start you want someone who has a great deal of experience in the art of civil litigation, with knowledge of the rules and ways to make the system work for you. You need the creativity, knowledge and experience which Bloomfield Law Group, Inc. brings to every case and client.
Defending Against a Lawsuit.
We hope you are fortunate enough never to be sued by another person or business. While some statistics seem frightening, showing that an alarming percentage of people or businesses are sued at one time or another, the truth is that these figures are unreliable because many people and companies never get sued while others get sued many, many times.
If you are sued, it can be a very scary proposition. When someone hands you those papers, or you come home to a worried spouse who wonders what is happening, your world can be turned upside down.
We understand how frightening a lawsuit can be, especially as you start reading the complaint and see how much money (it's usually about money) they are claiming they are "owed." It usually looks so solid - they quote laws, they may cite court cases, they write as if the outcome is pre-determined.
An outcome in a lawsuit is never pre-determined. Our first goal is to try to ease your mind without offering false hope, We will learn the facts of your case, investigate the allegations, and aggressively use the law and the legal process to not only defend you but to turn the case where possible back on the party suing you. Often cases that appear to be "slam dunks" for the other side turn out to be tissues of mis-applied statutes and false facts.
We have had cases where we are able to turn things around and get money from the party suing our client. More often, we work out a deal that settles the case long before trial, saving you in the settlement and in legal and court fees. Defending against a lawsuit is never painless, but we do our best to free you from devastating worry and crippling judgments.
Every case is different, and there are never guarantees of success, but every case provides opportunities for the skilled, creative and knowledgeble attorneys at Bloomfield Law Group, Inc, to help our clients resume their life eventually free from the specter of a life-destroying lawsuit, and in the interim be able to be much more relaxed knowing your lawsuit is in the hands of a knowledgeable and extremely able law firm.
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