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Rules of civil procedure govern the conduct of a lawsuit in the common law adversarial system of dispute resolution. Civil procedure is additionally constrained/informed by separate statutory laws, case law, and constitutional provisions that define the rights of the parties to a lawsuit (see especially due processDue process of law is a legal concept that ensures the government will respect all of a person's legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights, when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property. Due process has also bee), though the rules will generally reflect this legal context on their face. The details of procedure will differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and often from court to court within the same jurisdiction. The rules are very important for litigants to know, however, because they dictate the timing and progression of the lawsuit--what may be filed and when to get what result. Failure to comply with the procedural rules can result in serious limitations in conducting the trial or even dismissal of the lawsuit.
Though the vast majority of lawsuits are settled easily and never even get to trial, they can expand into a very complicated process. This is particularly true in federalThe word ''federal in a general sense refers to the nature of an agreement between or among two or more states nations, or other groups to merge into a union in which control of common affairs is held by a central authority created by and with the consent systems, where a federal court may be applying state law or vice versa, or one state applying the law of another, and where it additionally may not be clear which level (or location) of court actually has jurisdictionThe term jurisdiction has more than one sense. Power of a court of law Jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear and decide a case before it. In most common law systems, jurisdiction is conceptually divided between jurisdiction over the subject matter over the claim or personal jurisdictionPersonal jurisdiction jurisdiction of (or over) the person or jurisdiction in personam is the power of a court to require a party (usually the defendant) or a witness to come before the court. The court must have personal jurisdiction to enforce its judgm over the defendant. Domestic courts are also often called upon to apply foreign law, or to act upon foreign defendants, over whom they may not, as a practical matter, even have the ability to enforce a judgment if the defendant's assets are outside their reach.
Lawsuits become additionally complicated the more parties that are involved. Within a "single" lawsuit, there can be any number of claims and defenses (all based on numerous laws) between any number of plaintiffs or defendants, who each can bring any number of cross-claims and counterclaims against each other, and even bring additional parties into the suit on other side after it progresses. However, courts typically have some power to separate out claims and parties into separate suits if it is more efficient to do so, such as if there is not a sufficient overlap of factual issues between the various claims.
The following is a generalized description of how a lawsuit may proceed in a common law jurisdiction:
The lawsuit begins with the plaintiff filing a complaint with the court. This complaint will state that the plaintiff is seeking damages or equitable reliefFor the actors' guilds called "equity," see Actors' Equity Association (U. or British Actors' Equity Association (U. For "equity" as the value of an ownership interest in property, see ownership equity. Equity is the name given to the whole area of the le from a stated defendant, and what the legal and factual bases for doing so are. The clerk of court then issues a summonsA summons is a legal document issued by a court addressed to a defendant in a legal proceeding. Typically, a summons will announce that the person to whom it is directed that a legal proceeding has been started against them, a file has been started in the, or serves processService of process is the term given to a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over individuals who are the subject of proceedings or actions bought before such court, body or other tribunal. In most Anglo-American legal systems the, upon the defendant to notify him that he is being sued and provide him with the nature of the claims. Once the defendant receives this notice, he has a time limit to file a response explaining his defenses to the plaintiff's claims, including any challenges to the court's jurisdiction, though some courts impose no limit on certain jurisdictional challenges.
Usually the pleadings are drafted by a lawyer, but in many courts a person can file papers and represent themselves, which is called appearing pro se. Many courts have a pro se clerk to assist people without lawyers.
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