What is a civil lawsuit?

A civil lawsuit is a court-based process where a person (the plaintiff) can hold another person (the defendant) liable for some type of harm or wrongdoing. A civil lawsuit seeks to compensate the plaintiff for the damages done through some type of relief, often money. It begins when the plaintiff files a complaint with the court.

Courts may have a wide variety of cases, but the most common civil lawsuits are:

• Tort claims
• Breach of contract claims
• Equitable claims
• Landlord-tenant claims

Step 1: What is a civil complaint and how do I write one? 

A civil complaint is the document that starts the lawsuit to be filed. There are four components to be included in a civil complaint when you write one:

• The names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant
• A statement of why the court has jurisdiction over the case
• Allegations or claims against the defendant
• Description of what type of relief is sought

Step 2: How do I file a complaint with the court?

To file a complaint with the court, there are three documents you need, a civil cover sheet, a civil category sheet, and a completed summons for each defendant.

• A civil cover sheet is a document filed with a court clerk at the beginning of a civil lawsuit.
• A civil category sheet is a document that helps select the category in which the case belongs in based on the numbered nature of the suit code listed on the civil cover sheet.
• A summons is a legal document that is given to the defendant to notify him or her that they are being sued by the plaintiff.

A summons must be completed for each defendant in the lawsuit. You must present each summon for every defendant to the clerk to which they will sign and seal each one. The plaintiff keeps the original summons.

It is also common to have to pay a filing fee at the time of filing the complaint and cover sheets. Sometimes the fee can get waived if the plaintiff cannot afford it. Once the complaint is filed, a court will issue a summons to the defendant, served personally, or by someone else.

Step 3: Judicial review of the complaint

Once the complaint is filed and the fees are paid for, the court will review the civil lawsuit complaint and all the documents within the lawsuit. It is in this step where the court will determine first whether they believe you deserve the relief you sought out to receive and second if you are being truthful and not suing with malicious intent. It is possible for cases to be dismissed if:

• The plaintiff made false allegations
• The complaint has malicious intent
• The plaintiff failed to claim which relief they should receive
• The defendant is exempt from the legal action taken against them by the plaintiff

Step 4: Service of process

Once the complaint has been filed and reviewed by the court, it can either be dismissed or accepted. If accepted, the case will be given to a judge within the jurisdiction it was filed under and assigned a civil action number.

A civil action number is assigned to every case to help keep track of it. Each court may have its own way of how it assigns a case number. However, it will most likely include the following:

• The number of the court the complaint was filed in
• The year (and sometimes month) the complaint was filed in
• The type of case it is (civil, criminal, etc.)
• A sequential number assigned when the case is filed with the court

Every court has its own unique identification code which may be a number, letter, or both a number and letter together.

The sequential number assigned to the case is often what number case it is that current year with the court. For example, the first case of the year filed in the court will have the sequential number of 00001.

The type of case the lawsuit is, such as civil or criminal, is shown as a short abbreviation of the type. For example, courts may use “CV” or “Civ.” for civil cases, “BR” for bankruptcy, and “CR” for criminal cases.

In addition, the summons you submitted in the complaint will be signed, sealed, and returned to you from the clerk’s office in this step to serve it to the defendant.

Timeline for initial response

Once the defendant receives the summons, typically they will have twenty calendar days to respond to the court. In some cases, it might be shorter, while in other cases it may be a little longer. The defendant has options for what they could do, but most will file a response with the court. Other options include:

• Negotiating a resolution
• File a motion to dismiss
• Sue the plaintiff

In some cases, the defendant may not do anything at all, which can result in the plaintiff asking the court to make a default judgement.

Resources:

• https://lawshelf.com/shortvideoscontentview/civil-complaint/
• https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/lawsuits-for-money/pleading-stage-filing-a-complaint-or-responding-to-a-complaint/241-filing-a-complaint-to-start-your-case
• https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/general/pdf/StepByStepEnglish.pdf
• https://guides.library.lls.edu/c.php?g=497713&p=3407496
• https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/lawsuits-for-money/pleading-stage-filing-a-complaint-or-responding-to-a-complaint/243-responding-to-a-complaint-if-you-ve-been-sued
• https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/lawsuits-for-money/overview-of-a-civil-case