Being Sued
What to do if you find yourself hit with a lawsuit

Lawsuit steps differ from one court system to another. As a result, when you receive a summons and complaint, it is important to read it carefully. Generally, when a case is filed and you are served with a summons, you have a limited time to respond to the lawsuit by filing a document known as an appearance and, in most cases, filing an answer to the complaint. Should you fail to take these steps, you may lose your right to defend yourself and dispute the lawsuit.

A date may be set for either a trial or a report to the court on the status of the case after you have filed your appearance and answer. The parties in the meantime have the right to conduct discovery, which is a process for each side to find out more about the issues in dispute. It may require people to answer questions under oath through interrogatories or under deposition. A deposition is an oral examination, while interrogatories are written answers to questions.

The judge will try to settle the case after discovery is completed and before the trial in most courts. The vast majority of cases settle without going to trial. When a civil case goes to trial, it may be heard and decided by a judge or a jury. A jury will decide the case if any of the parties asks for one. There is usually an additional filing fee to demand a jury. If the case is decided against the person being sued, the judge or jury will also decide how much the damages are.

A court order is written and signed by the judge after a settlement or trial. The order sets out the obligations resulting from the lawsuit, and if there is an order for damages and money is owed, the order can been forced by various collection methods such as sale of assets such as a car or house, or wage assignment, where money is taken out of a paycheck.

You might be able to bring an appeal to a higher court if you lose a lawsuit. However, appeals can be brought for only a limited number of reasons and are costly and time consuming.

Provided Lawyers

The person being sued is sometimes provided with a lawyer at no personal expense. For example, your insurance company will probably provide a lawyer to protect your interests if you are sued because you were in an auto accident. If you are sued as an officer or director of a corporation or charity, that organization may provide a lawyer for you.

However, you should also consider the possibility that the lawyer provided for you may have a conflict of interest. This means that the lawyer may be responsible to the organization and the organization's interests may be different from yours. If you believe there is a conflict of interests, you should enlist a lawyer that you find personally.