Civil Law Procedures and Damages Lesson 6-3 Civil Law Procedures and Damages

What will you learn?? Discuss damages available to a victim Determine how a lawsuit takes place, step by step Determine who has the power to end a lawsuit Understand legal terms associated with lawsuits

What steps take place in a Civil Action? First, the plaintiff files a complaint and serves the defendant this complaint (Written action where they claim an injury Next, the defendant has a right to answer the complaint by giving their side of the story to the court Judge reads and decides if the action continues Court date set (If continued) or the action is denied by the judge If a court date is set, the jury is chosen and trial takes place Jury makes their decision (Verdict)

What does this mean? A complaint (And answer) are the determining factors if a judge allows a lawsuit to even take place Lawsuits can be thrown out by judges who feel the plaintiff cannot prove their case Since you need to be more right than wrong (Preponderance of evidence), the burden of proof is lower to show that an injury took place and the defendant is liable for it

What takes place at end of trial? Judgment is the final result of the trial (Money damages, defendant found not liable) Once a judgement is awarded, the plaintiff has the right to collect If a defendant pays, nothing else happens If they do not pay, the plaintiff may go back to the court and ask for assistance The court may give them a “Writ of Execution” which is a court order stating they may obtain money or property through other means (Wage garnishment, bank freezes or other) Or, the judgement may “Never” get paid by the defendant, as the plaintiff may not have a means to get the money Defendants can declare bankruptcy, which eliminates the payment of the judgment as well..

What are Damages? Damages are what is awarded by a jury (Or Judge) after a verdict Compensatory damages are meant to “Compensate” a victim for their losses (Get the party back to where they were before the contract started) Punitive damages are meant to “punish” the defendant (Given over and above a compensatory damage Rule: Compensatory damages are “ALWAYS” asked for, punitive very rarely

Civil Law Facts….. Courts may issue an “Injunction” which stops someone or some business from doing something while an issue is being resolved Ex) If a building is set to be demolished and a group wants to stop this from happening, they can ask a court for an injunction to temporarily stop this from happening while a civil suit is completed Subpoena's are court orders for a witness to show up to court and testify in a trial. Issued by a judge and “Must” be followed Testimony is something a witness provides in a trial And a Witness is someone with direct knowledge of the facts of the case

Paying an attorney Lawyers in civil cases many times are paid using a “Contingency Fee”, which means they are not paid unless they win the case. They collect 24%- 33% of the judgment won at the end If the attorney loses the case, they collect nothing Offered to a client if the attorney thinks they will win and its worth their time

How are judgements satisfied Judgements are what the plaintiff wins There is NO guarantee the plaintiff will collect anything If a defendant goes bankrupt, the plaintiff loses the judgement If the plaintiff cannot collect the damage and the defendant CAN pay, they can go back to the court and ask for a writ of execution A Writ of Execution is a court order where the plaintiff can garnish wages, freeze bank accounts or collect assets

Ticket out the door quiz Complete the practice quiz and turn in before end of class Review and quiz within next 3 classes