Lecture 3 LITIGATION An action brought in court to enforce a particular right The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in a judicial contest any dispute Determines legal rights and remedies Very expensive and resort to litigation only after negotiations have failed Plaintiff The party that institutes a suit in a court Defendant Accused party 3rd party defendant Party brought into a lawsuit as a defendant by the original defendant Person suing Toyota for break malfunction Toyota then suing brake company Complaint the first document filed with the court by a person or entity claiming legal rights against another Counterclaim Claim for relief filed against an opposing party after the original claim is filed Claim by the defendant against the plaintiff Cross claim A demand made in a pleading against another party on the same side of the lawsuit Defendant suing defendant Affidavit a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation for use as evidence in court STANDING AND JURISDICTION Standing to Sue entitled to sue o Claims most involve a legal controversy o Case or controversy o Plaintiff most have a stake in resolution of the controversy o NOT a determination of the merits of the plaintiffs claim o Just a determination that the plaintiff s allegation satisfy Jurisdiction o Subject matter jurisdiction court has to have jurisdiction over this certain type of controversy o Personal jurisdiction courts authority over the parties to a case Civil litigation o Dispute between individuals or organizations o Money damages injunction when a court orders a party to do something or often stop doing something etc o Liberty life is not at stake o Preponderance of evidence low standard clear and convincing o plaintiff using has burden of proof o Ex dispute between corporations divorce proceedings Texaco v Pennzoil Criminal litigation o State v defendant o Loss of liberty potential remedy jail prison loss of life fined o Beyond reasonable doubt high burden of proof on state o Ex Case against individual for fraud murder DUI insider trading deceptive practices o State will always be the plaintiff CLASS ACTION SUITS o One or more plaintiffs file suit on behalf of all persons the class who might have a similar claim Aggregation of claims so each person doesn t file a different law suit over and over o Rationale economics efficiency enable small claims more economical for a specific claim to actually happen a lot of people get hurt but just a little bit they can file a class action suit o Incentives to settle often settle o Group of passengers on Carnival Triumph o People harmed taking a pharmaceutical o People who bought Toyota s faulty break system COST OF LITIGATION o Legal Fees billable hour v contingency fee model commonly used by plaintiff attorneys and usually based on a of whatever the outcome is o Discovery expensive lose time damage public image o Time and diversion of resources o PR Goodwill is hard to keep friendly o THE ANATOMY AND STAGES OF CIVIL LITIGATION Dispute Pleadings Initial fillings Discovery Pre trial motions Trial Decision and post trial PLEADINGS Plaintiff files a complaint official beginning of a case o Has to establish plaintiffs standing over the issues Defendant files an answer Or maybe a counterclaim If no answer DEFAULT could be like losing a case DISCOVERY Ensure awareness of facts and arguments Reduce element of surprise at trial stage Aids trial preparation dress rehearsal Narrows issues Conducted without court supervision Encourages settlement Information that is likely to become admissible as evidence in trial limits the scope of what the parties are looking for Tools o Interrogatories written questions by the attorney that asks the other side o Requests for production asking for a limited amount of docs info causes discovery to not be liked Maintenance records Emails correspondence o Depositions in person questioning of a witness or related party under oath Texas video o Requests for admission serves to narrow the scope of issues at play Hey carnival we request that you admit to this and this getting noncontroversial issues out of the way MOTIONS AND PRETIRAL STAGE What is a motion Formal request that a party can make to a judge requesting that the judge take an action on a specific point o Applicable windows for various motions o Some of the most important motions are made at pretrial stage o Like discovery they often determine how parties are going to settle at this stage o Almost all cases settle before trial stage Judgment on the pleadings request hey judge will you please make a judgment on this case based on the initial pleadings complaint answer Summary judgment happens later more realistic a party requests that the judge enter into a judgment based on initial pleadings and evidence has been gathered Dismiss because lawsuit is frivolous Compel discovery Bench trial no jury but judge TRIAL STAGE Jury selection voir dire Can excuse expected jurors for cause admitted bias and have a limited of peremptory challenges Opening arguments plaintiff presents case evidence Motion for directed verdict another opportunity for a party who doesn t have burden of proof to say judge I want you to throw out this particular issue because its clear that the party with the burden of proof cannot come up with another evidence to back up that claim Closing arguments and jury jurisdiction