Many different issues are decided through civil litigation; in our society, suing is one of the ways to settle disputes. A civil case involves a dispute between one person or entity and another and the subject matter may be an injury, wrongful death, a debt and much more. The filing party believes that they are owed some type of damages. Interestingly, it takes much more proof to prevail in a criminal case than in civil litigation because civil cases are decided by a “preponderance of the evidence”, a criminal must be convicted “beyond a reasonable doubt”.
Nonetheless, it takes a lot of work to prepare a civil case and one should hire a Civil Litigation Attorney Charlotte NC. Attorneys take many civil cases on a contingency especially if it involves injury or wrongful death; however, the attorney may charge by the hour for litigation involving disputes over property and other issues. Usually, the defendant must be sued in the jurisdiction where they live, on the other hand, the plaintiff is not required to live in the area. The attorney prepares a complaint stating what the plaintiff is suing for, then the Sheriff’s office serves the complaint and the defendant has so many days to answer. The defendant’s answer must explain why they are not guilty of the complaint’s allegations.
In most jurisdictions, there is a six-month discovery period after a civil lawsuit is filed when both parties’ attorneys have the right to prepare interrogatories that must be answered under oath. Interrogatories are questions aimed at discovering information that will help in the trial of the case. Attorneys may also serve requests for the production of documents; the law requires the parties to answer the questions and provide the documents. Next, the attorneys may want to schedule a deposition, where a party testifies under oath before a court reporter, which allows an attorney to find out how the person will testify at trial. In civil cases, the prevailing party usually receives monetary damages. If the case goes to trial, the jury awards damages; however, the case may settle at any time before trial. If you have a case, hire an experienced civil litigation attorney in Charlotte NC.