Remember that even if a lawsuit is frivolous, it costs time and money. That means that the lawsuit must be filed within a certain amount of time. This is not legal advice. Each lawsuit goes to a trial where a judge makes a final ruling, and neither party is represented by an attorney. You can break both the criminal and the civil law at the same time but you can ONLY be sued if you have broken a civil law. Visit our professional site ». ADR allows the plaintiff, defendant, and their lawyers to try and negotiate a settlement with a neutral third party serving as the mediator or arbitrator. You can decide it is worth it to you to sue for only $5,000 rather than have to incur higher court costs or substantial attorney's fees. For more information about New York courts, send us a message. Use of Small Claims Court. If you sue a person, this means that you are taking them to court because you believe they have committed a wrong against you and therefore they have broken a civil law. You may be able to file by email for the Superior Court of Justice or the Ontario Court of Justice. A request for document production allows each side to ask the other side for documents that relate to the case. Lawsuits in Federal and State Court. If you sue someone you start a court procedure to bring a legal claim against them. These courts vary from state to state. An attorney will help the plaintiff navigate the court systems, the relevant laws, and the elements of a particular type of case. Explanation of class-action lawsuits and cases, in which several plaintiffs with similar grievances join the same lawsuit against a defendant, with information about how classes are certified by courts. Get a date on the court calendar. The amount you can sue for is limited depending on your jurisdiction. If you decide to go to court on your own, you will need to understand how the court system works and what will be expected of you. The point is, you can have civil unrest anywhere you have human beings. Once you decide to file a lawsuit for a civil rights violation, one of your first considerations will be where to file: in federal or state court. While an individual can generally navigate small claims courts by themselves, cases where much larger sums of money on the line may require the representation of counsel. It also means that if you do something wrong to another person, they might be able to take you to court. I terminated a friendship with someone. But before you decide you want to sue someone, there are some things to consider. In what I believe was an attempt to destroy my marriage and my family. In civil lawsuits, particularly in Small Claims Court, you can get a judgment by the Court for money owed you, but you may have great difficulty collecting the money. This guide is about the ways in which you can use dispute resolution to sort out a legal problem before or instead of going to court. While courts and judges generally enjoy immunity from civil lawsuits, there may still be ways to hold them accountable for certain actions. Civil Cases Versus Criminal Cases. If you are at least 18 years old (or an emancipated minor), you can file a claim in small claims court. If you're asking for $35,000 or less, you can file a claim in Small Claims Court. Since he was represented by counsel this seems unlikely. One or more terms of a valid contract (written, oral, or implied) has been broken by the person you are suing. If you have tried everything else in a business dispute and nothing has worked it may be time to consider bringing suit against the counterparty with a civil lawsuit. Most disputes involving money can be filed in small claims court. They include cases involving civil rights, patent infringement, federal antitrust laws and discrimination. Other courts can only decide cases up to $25,000. Civil Suits Can Be Brought By Anyone. The legal justice system is divided into two main courts: criminal and civil. Once you figure out which state to sue in, you also need to figure out which court in that state is the correct one to sue in. If someone owes you money and you haven’t had any success getting this person or company to pay you can start a court case. When a victim pursues financial compensation for the damages he suffered because of another party’s actions, he is pursuing a civil claim. A person is not allowed to sue for the value of his time in court. If you do not mediate at the beginning of your civil dispute and decide to sue in court instead, you could still later participate in a mediation session.