Civil Litigation Notes / Assignment Repository:

Stages of Litigation:

Discovery
Pretrial Motions
Trial
Appeal

Jurisdiction / Venue:

Personal Jurisdiction
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Venue
Removal to Federal Court

Court Documents

Complaint
Answer
Motion to Dismiss
Interrogatories
Motion for Summary Judgment
Request for Production
Pretrial Brief
Notice of Appeal

Complaint: Filing that starts a civil case. Alleges certain behavior on the part of the defendant and asks the court for specific relief.

Third Party Complaint: Filed by any plaintiff / defendant to bring another party into the case.

Cross Claim: A complaint filed by one defendant against another defendant.

Discovery: Pretrial process where each party obtains evidence and information from the other side to prepare their case. Includes tools like depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents and admissions.

Pretrial Motions: Formal requests made to the court before a trial begins, asking the judge to make decisions on specific legal issues. Includes motion to dismiss, motion to compel discovery, and motion for summary judgment.

Personal Jurisdiction: Court’s authority to make legal decisions affecting specific individuals or entities. Requires the party to have a sufficient connection to the location, such as living there or conducting business there.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction: Court’s authority to hear and decide cases of a particular type or category. Depends on the nature of the dispute, such as federal questions or specific dollar amounts in civil cases.

Venue: Specific geographic location where a lawsuit should be filed and heard. Typically determined by where the events occurred or where the parties reside or do business.

Motion to Dismiss: Request asking the court to throw out a case because of legal deficiencies, such as lack of jurisdiction, improper service, or failure to state a valid claim. If granted, the case ends without proceeding to trial.

Interrogatories: Written questions one party sends to the other during discovery to gather information relevant to the case. The recipient must answer them in writing and under oath within a set time frame.

Motion for Summary Judgement: Asks the court to decide a case or specific issue without a trial, arguing that there are no disputed material facts and the law clearly favors the moving party. If granted, the court rules based on the evidence submitted.

Request for Production: discovery tool where one party asks the other to provide specific documents, records, or tangible evidence related to the case. The responding party must produce the requested items or explain why they cannot.

Pretrial Brief: Written summary submitted to the court outlining the party’s arguments, legal issues, and evidence before the trial.

Pleading: Demands that the other party do something. Defines the issues and states the bare facts necessary to begin or defend the case. Is the foundational basis on which cases move forward.

Notice Pleading: Gives notice of the allegation and the reasons for the lawsuit.

Fact Pleading: Fact-specific

Motions: Requests that the judge in the case take an action or compel a party to take an action.

Jurisdictional Statement: The paperwork stating that the court you’re filing in has both types of jurisdiction, and this court is the proper venue to try the case.

Damages: Catch-all term for any harm, physical or monetary, alleged to have been caused by the other party

Two Types of Answers:

Responsive to the facts alleged
Raises other defenses to the allegations

Answers have a limited time frame to respond. If no response in the allotted time frame, allegations are considered true.

Defenses:

Partial Defense: If proved, can defeat part of the case
Complete Defense: If proven, can defeat the entire case
Negative Defense: Attacks the elements of the other party’s case, such as stating an allegation never happened.
Affirmative Defense: Does not directly deny the allegations of the claim that it is responding to. Instead, it alleges new facts that, if proven true, can defeat the entire case

Counterclaims:

Mandatory counterclaim: Arises out of the same facts as the complaint and must be filed with the answer or it is lost.
Permissive counterclaim: Any other counterclaim is permissive. Defendant may choose to bring it as a separate lawsuit later on.

Law Notes: Civil Litigation